Phantom Blade
by Butterfly Chikage
Summary: Misaka, seeking to clear all 100 floors to avenge her best friend. Tsubasa, seeking only to feel the thrill of the game. The unexpected meeting of these two heroes brings upon a new legend. Along with the famous Black Swordsman and The Flash, can they lend a hand in clearing the death game, Sword Art Online?
1. Chapter 1: Boss Raid Meeting

**Hello, my name is Chikage! Welcome to my Sword Art Online fanfiction, _Phantom Blade_ , starring 5 (and more) of my own OCs! I will make changes in plotlines, and I'll make sure to tell you before hand when that does happen. Also, I trust that you've read or watched or associated with the original in any way, shape, or form, because a lot of things are from the original. Without further ado, please enjoy!  
**

 ***Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or anything except my own characters and the plotline!**

 **Another disclaimer: I don't own the picture, either. It's temporary.**

 **Chapter 1: Boss Raid Meeting  
** "Hmm, this isn't half bad, really. And here I thought this would be just another crappy, boring game."

Upon being stuck inside the virtual reality Sword Art Online, this was the only reaction that «Tsubasa» had. People might look at him like he's insane, but frankly, "the real world is boring"—this was how he had been feeling while purchasing the VRMMORPG «Sword Art Online», also called SAO. So upon hearing that the log out function had been disabled, hearing that you could actually die in the game, hearing that to return to the real world all 100 floors of the floating castle «Aincrad» had to be cleared; all this stirred up every ounce of excitement in his body and made him feel thrilled, on the contrary to what everyone else thought.

Two months into the game, and the first floor was still left uncleared. Two thousand people had died already. Passing 100 floors seemed impossible.

But he didn't care about that.

While countless players were trying their luck at finding the first floor boss, Tsubasa was walking towards Starting Town checking the loot he had received from a high level quest.

"Hey, Tsu-chan!"

"I told you not to call me that before, Argo. Do you want to be killed?"

The information broker «Argo» was met by a poison needle to her throat the moment she appeared next to him cheerfully, and she stiffened. The whiskers drawn on her face were as apparent as usual.

"You're as impeccable as ever, Tsu-cha—er, I mean, _Tsubasa._ "

Tsubasa shrugged and placed the poison needle back into his bag, closing his menu tabs. "So, what do you want this time?"

"I brought some rather interesting information. Want to hear it?"

"Not at all."

Argo sighed. "Out of all of my customers, you're the only one who has no interest in whatever I say, Tsu-chan. Seriously, what is going on in that brain of yours?"

"Is that all you came here to say?"

"Well, I guess I'll say it anyway. I picked up some information on the first floor boss—"

"Ah, is that so."

"Hey, at least hear me out to the end!"

"Yeah, yeah, you can just run your mouth."

"Anyway, they found out the location of the boss room, and there's a gathering of players for a raid in an attempt to clear the first floor. I've also published a guidebook for it. You should go check it out."

"Why? I have zero interest in clearing floors."

"Hmmm…" Argo's lips curled upwards in a smirk, and Tsubasa glanced at her skeptically.

"Don't look at me with that perverted face. It's creepy."

"Wha—what's a 'perverted face'?!" Argo demanded. "You're probably tired of all the quests on the first floor, aren't you? The faster the first floor boss is cleared the more you'll have to explore."

"Isn't it the more _you'll_ have to explore?" Tsubasa retorted.

"Uu…" Argo flinched when his point hit the mark. "Anyway, you should check it out!"

She ran forward a couple of steps before pausing and turning around again as she remembered something.

"Tsu-chan!" She yelled loudly, much to Tsubasa's irritation. "If you do check it out, there's one more thing I have to warn you about!"

"I said I won't," Tsubasa said bluntly, but she wasn't listening.

Argo's voice lowered and her words were carried away by the wind, but Tsubasa could read her lips perfectly, even from a ten meter distance.

 _"Be careful of the leader. I heard his name means the Devil."_

Then she used a Hiding Skill and blended into the surroundings, vanishing in the distance.

Tsubasa sighed. "The second floor, huh…"

A moment of silence.

Then—

"Yeah, no. I don't want to after all. Now, how much should I sell this for…?"

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"Hmm, so the first floor boss has been discovered?"

Standing in Starting Town at an information center, a girl with the screen name «Misaka» frowned to herself as she stood in front of an information booth. Her raven black hair had been forcefully returned by the game system and was tied in two low ponytails only slightly longer than her shoulders with cute red ribbons. She wore simple red and black clothing without any armor of any kind, her black ruffled skirt brushing against her thighs. A black cloak covered her upper body, the large hood dipping over her eyes. Her short heels clicked as she walked through the streets.

Her blue eyes burned with fury.

 _Wait for me, Emina. I'll avenge you._

She stormed through Starting Town in a tornado, leaving people instinctively moving away from her when she passed by, due to her strong murderous aura. She gripped the _kodachi*_ sheathed at her side tightly.

 _I'll destroy the last boss and clear this game. I swear it._

Misaka entered the meeting area.

"Hello!" A blue-haired man smiled at her politely the moment she stepped through the threshold. "Are you here for the first-boss clearing party?"

Misaka simply bobbed her head once.

"That's great—"

"Oi, Diavel-san, it's a _girl,_ " Another man complained as he stalked up to them, hands on his hips crossly. "Are you sure she'll be of any help?"

"We don't have that sort of prejudice here," The leader, Diavel, said quickly when Misaka's hand instinctively flew to the hilt of her _kodachi._ "Let's all get along and clear the first floor, all right?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm not going to be stuck babysitting a little _girl—_ "

In a slow but fast silent movement, the girl moved across the space between them with little resistance against the air, causing no sound or attention as she was suddenly standing next to the man with her _kodachi_ placed perpendicularly at his neck.

Her _kodachi_ was called «Amano Maihime». It had been a present from Emina when she first entered the game. It was a short sword with a wide and slightly curved blade shape, the center shaded a dark blue and the edges tinted silver. It was a truly beautiful sword.

"I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

Her voice was soft but harsh, emotionless but murderous; her eyes were narrowed calmly but mercilessly.

The man swallowed.

To him, the only thing he had seen was her entire figure vanish before she suddenly stood before him like she had appeared from thin air.

He could only give one meek reply.

"I-I'm sorry."

Misaka lowered her _kodachi_ and hesitated before sheathing it at her side, turning her back on the man and approaching the leader with a bow. "I apologize for getting violent."

"No problem, no problem," Diavel grinned cheerfully. "We shouldn't be judgmental against girls, anyway."

"True."

Diavel sweatdropped when she agreed without hesitation.

"Well, make yourself at home. We'll be starting shortly."

"Thank you."

Misaka turned and headed towards the large rows of seats, scanning them briefly before stepping towards the empty corner.

"Ah, you!"

The _kodachi_ -wielder turned with her head tipped slightly, pointing at herself.

Diavel nodded. "Did you pick up a manual by any chance? The one up for free at the items shop."

Misaka thought briefly before nodding.

"That's good." Diavel smiled. "Incidentally, how much would you be willing to sell that sword of yours for?"

"Not for sale."

Misaka turned immediately with a toss of her long hair and a small "hmph!" as she went over to the audience seats and sat down by herself in the corner.

Diavel sighed and scratched his head. _Well, I suspected that'd happen. She doesn't look like much, but…_

Misaka lowered her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes intruding on the upper half of her vision.

 _I guess they don't need to know that I'm a beta tester…_

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

Misaka tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the meeting to begin. Her blue eyes scanned the crowd of men gathered, each carrying a weapon of some sort. Most looked to be of a big, muscular build, but there were a couple of scrawny ones that she could pick out.

She sighed and muttered to herself, "This won't be any good. Each and every one of them—pathetic."

"Oi, what did you say just now, girlie?"

The man sitting in front of her scowled, breaking off midsentence as he overhead her. He turned around to face her, snarling and raising a sharp knife dangerously. His green eyes glared at her with anger and his hair stood up on an end.

"I said you're all pathetic," Misaka repeated bluntly, causing some other people around her to look over as well.

"Who do you think you are?" The man sneered, standing up and looming over her. "Perhaps I should teach you a lesson—!"

"Hey, you, no violence allowed!" Diavel called out to him, but it was too late.

The man's knife slashed forward, aiming for a nonfatal part of her body, but there was a sudden blur—

"Huh?" The man froze in shock when his blade hit air.

"Where were you aiming?"

The men all turned to see the girl standing on the top-most tier of the gathering ring, her blue eyes piercing through them from underneath her unmoved black hood. She had her hands on her hips crossly, and the red ribbons in her twintails still fluttered slightly from her sudden lightning-fast movement.

"How…?" The man was speechless.

"See what I mean?" Misaka said irritably. "Pathetic."

With this, she tossed her head before turning on her heel and stalking off.

"Hold it right there!" The man demanded, unequipping his knife and grabbing his sword from its sheath.

"No way," Misaka scoffed, giving a small flit of her hand. "I'm not into fighting weaklings."

"Why you—!"

The girl wasn't listening though. The moment the words left her mouth, her expression darkened and her feet stopped midstep. The man who had been approaching her froze when she suddenly emitted a murderous aura. He flinched when she moved her hand, but she didn't draw her _kodachi_ —instead, she bit down on her thumbnail sharply.

The crowd around her dispersed quickly when her bloodlust only increased.

 _Crap. I said something unnecessary again. No wonder people often tell me my words are honest to a fault. My filter sucks. Well, nothing to do about it. It's the truth, anyway._

She sighed and continued walking. Her murderous aura vanished, and she pulled her tall high-heel boots over the bench to plop down on the top-most tier. Her blue eyes held a glint of annoyance.

 _It's no wonder that no one likes me_.

By this time, her bloodlust had returned, and the crowd inched away slowly.

"Um…are you all right?"

She blinked in surprise when a boy's voice was directed towards her, glancing in front of her to see a teenage boy her age looking at her with a slightly sheepish smile.

Compared to the rest of the crowd, he would be what she considered scrawny. He was thin and somewhat good-looking, with raven black hair similar to hers (but his seemed to be unbrushed) and similar dark eyes. He had a simple clothing, with a blue long-sleeve sweater like shirt and long, tight-fitting black pants. Fingerless black gloves covered the palms of his hands. A relatively high-level sword hung at his waist, which caught Misaka's eyes immediately, but she quickly turned her gaze back to his.

"You mean me?"

"Yeah," The boy looked slightly confused at her surprise, but he smiled anyway. "I mean, that was a bit harsh, but they didn't have to attack you like that."

"You're pretty blunt yourself," Misaka commented. She glanced upwards towards and his green color cursor came up, but nothing else did. She was really hating this whole name blocking system—it was the only way that she could differentiate people when she was talking.

"Eh, you think so?" The boy blinked.

Misaka let out a small giggle on impulse. _Which is worse—knowing your faults with speech and not being able to correct it, or not knowing there is one at all?_

The boy let out another sheepish grin that matched hers, and then his expression turned serious just as quickly. "So you're here to clear the first floor as well…?"

Misaka blinked. "Oh, you can call me Misaka."

"Alright. Nice to meet you, Misaka-san, I'm Kirito."

Kirito held out his hand, and Misaka was slightly hesitant as she took it, but he grabbed her hand anyway and shook it with a knowing smile.

"Please drop the honorific," Misaka corrected, pulling her hand back quickly. "Frankly, it sounds weird."

"Understood. So you're here to clear the first floor as well, Misaka?"

"Yeah."

"…I see."

Misaka said nothing more, and Kirito didn't press on it either. His dark eyes glanced around curiously, and then he spotted another girl with a red cloak almost identical to Misaka's black one covering her face sitting by herself not far away from them, and turned to Misaka.

"Should we go say hi?"

"Are you trying to hit on girls?" Misaka asked bluntly before she could stop herself.

Kirito blinked once before blushing slightly. "No—that's not what I—I mean, it looks like she's alone, so—and plus, we'll probably have to get into parties, anyway—"

"I didn't mean it," Misaka looked away and muttered. "You're just meddlesome."

"Probably," Kirito had nothing to say to this, as it was pretty much true.

There was a moment of awkward silence, and then Misaka finally heaved a sigh and stared into Kirito's eyes, commanding, "Go talk to her. I'll wait here."

"You're not going to come with me?"

"I'm not good at conversation starters with strangers."

"I guess so…" Kirito thought before standing and heading towards the girl in the red cloak. "Then I'll be going…"

"Just go already."

The moment he left, she leaned forward into her hands, resting her elbows on her knees and stating flatly for the people around her to hear, "If you have something you want to say to me, then say it to my face. Your staring is unnerving."

"What, you chicken?" A man nearby sneered at her.

"No way. Any girl would feel the same if she had a bunch of perverted old geezers staring at her body."

Misaka stuck her fingers in her ears as this sent the other players into a ferocious fury.

"Who the hell are you calling perverted old geezers?!"

"Do you want to die, you brat?!"

"Diavel-han! What's a girl like her doing here anyway?!"

Misaka rolled her eyes, keeping her fingers firmly inside her ears. _Did I say something unnecessary again? I just said the truth._

"All right, calm down!"

Diavel's voice rang out, and everyone quietly immediately as he clapped his hands twice to get their attention. All of the players sat back down in their seats (some reluctantly) and turned to face him, each with a serious and determined expression.

Kirito stopped talking with the girl, his face becoming solemn as he faced Diavel. The girl cloaked in red didn't even lift her head as she listened closely. A large man sitting in the back turned his mouth down grimly as he listened with crossed arms. The man that had tried to stab Misaka scowled as he turned around, his spiky hair standing up on end.

Misaka's blue eyes narrowed sharply. _It's finally begun, Emina-chan. Wait for me…_

"Tch."

Standing in the shadow of the wall and hidden from everyone's view (even more so with all the players' eyes on Diavel), a teenager made a small noise of irritation. He stuck his hand in his pocket carelessly, his dark purple eyes (so dark they could be mistaken for black) watching over the meeting in boredom.

Diavel smiled kindly and raised his hand to greet the silence.

"Let's begin the meeting."

 *** _Kodachi_ : Short Sword  
**

 **A/N: This is just a trial chapter for now, to decide whether or not I should keep posting this. I was writing it yesterday, and I just couldn't not post it, so I posted it, but I'll see if I should keep it up, so do review what you thought of the chapter! It was kind of uneventful, but we're only leading up to the good stuff right now. I hope to see you again on _Phantom Blade!_**

 **~Chikage**

 _A small preview:_

 _Chapter 2: Beta Tester or Not?_

 _Misaka finds herself in a party with Kirito and the mysterious hooded girl, but trouble awaits her when a loud-mouthed man accuses beta testers in the meeting! Who is this mysterious boy standing in the shadows and why is he here?_


	2. Chapter 2: Beta Tester or Not?

**First off, special thanks to** **Da Kaleidoscope** **for your long review! I really appreciate it. I hope the rest of the...14 people who read this also enjoyed it! :) If you ever get the chance, please do drop in a review as well to tell me what you think! I figured one chapter isn't enough, so here I am with another! Enjoy!  
~Chikage**

 ***Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, only my own characters and plotlines. The cover picture either.**

 **Chapter 2: Beta Tester or Not?  
** "Thank you, everyone, for responding to my invitation," Diavel began. "My name is Diavel, and my class is, informally, knight!"

Misaka rolled her eyes to herself.

"There's no class system, you know," One player called up politely.

"Knight, he says," Another mocked.

"Is this whole meeting a joke?" A third muttered.

Diavel narrowed his eyes as he announced, "Today, on the highest level of this floor, my party discovered the boss room!"

"Seriously?" This caught everyone's attention.

Misaka frowned. _Didn't they come here already knowing that?_

"By defeating the first floor boss and reaching the second floor, we'll be able to show everyone in Starting Town that this game _can_ be cleared!" Diavel declared confidently. "It's our responsibility to do so!"

Misaka's blue eyes narrowed slightly. _Emina…I wish you were here too…_

 _…_

 _"Eh? Misaka? Wow, you came up with such a pretty name! It suits you!"_

 _"Look, Misaka, look! This is the virtual world! Isn't it wonderful?"_

 _"Don't worry, Misaka. I'll protect you! I'll protect you no matter what happens! Because it's my responsibility after all!"_

 _"Run…Misaka…I won't…make it...anymore…"_

 _"No! Emina! Emina! Eminaaaaaa!"_

 _…_

Misaka's hands clenched into fists tightly on her legs, and she forced herself not to remember the painful past.

 _Emina, I_ will _clear this game no matter what happens. I swear it._

"Mi-sa-ka!"

"Eh…huh?"

Misaka snapped out of her thoughts and looked up, flustered, to see Kirito standing in front of her. The girl in the red cloak stood nearby, looking hesitant.

"Ah, Kirito."

"What were you thinking about?"

"No…nothing really…" Misaka looked aside uneasily. "What's wrong?"

"You weren't listening, were you?" Kirito asked bluntly. "We're supposed to get into parties of six. Everyone else is already in a group, so I figured you should join ours."

 _Parties, huh…_ Misaka bit her nail nervously out of habit. Finally, she glanced up at them. "Are you sure that's okay?"

"Sure," Kirito replied nonchalantly. He looked back at the other girl. "Right?"

The girl nodded expressionlessly. "It'll just be for this once."

"Then I don't mind."

Kirito opened his menu and pulled up a tab, pressing a few things before a pop-up appeared in front of Misaka. It was a party request, and Misaka reached upwards to press the blue 'accept' button.

Immediately, both of their name cursors appeared in her vision, and she read them to herself quietly.

«Kirito» and «Asuna».

 _So the girl's name is Asuna, huh…No offense, but she doesn't seem to be very knowledgeable about the gaming system._

No longer seeing a reason to hide her face, Misaka opened her inventory and unequipped her cloak, revealing her blue eyes more clearly and her medium-length hair. She couldn't fight well with the cloak on, anyway; it was just to defend from unwanted stares.

Something caught her eye and she frowned, squinting to get a better view. It was a boy, standing in the shadows of the edge of the seats next to the stairs—unnoticed.

"There's someone else there," She murmured.

"There is?" Kirito and Asuna both glanced over to follow her gaze. Kirito shrugged. "Should we go invite them as well?"

"Well, there's only three of us so far anyway…" Misaka nodded and stood up. "But then again, I'm not into conversation starters with strangers."

"It's fine, we'll just ask him to party with us. That's all."

The three of them crossed the bleachers and over to the staircase behind the wall, heading down to the bottom tier.

"Hey—" Kirito began.

"We don't have time for this, so I'll be frank and say it," Misaka interrupted as she stepped into the boy's line of sight. "Do you have a party?"

She got her first good look at him. He was another teenager her age, with dark purple eyes so dark she almost thought they were black at first. His hair was wild—a dark black dyed with streaks of white and purple. Misaka would have thought that it was just his avatar, except that Kayaba Akihiko had forcefully made them assume their real appearance, so it couldn't be.

He wore a casual black jacket wrapped around a white long-sleeve shirt, matched with tight-fitting black pants clinging to his legs along with a silver-spiked black belt. His shirt had the words 'Fight or Die' printed in bold letters. She hadn't even thought that those kinds of casual clothing existed in the world of swords, but apparently they did. A large, broad sword (the sheath may have even been wider and longer than Misaka herself—even if she was rather thin and somewhat short in stature) was hung over one shoulder, sticking above his head.

He answered her, equally blunt. "No. Why would I?"

"Then you can join ours—"

"Yeah, no."

"Huh?" Misaka did a double take.

"I don't wanna."

 _This guy isn't just blunt—he's not even_ trying _to soften his words,_ Misaka thought to herself, annoyed.

"But he said that the boss can't be fought alone, right?" Kirito explained. "It'll just be for this once—"

"Who said I'm here to fight it?"

This was greeted by confused silence, and the boy sighed, scratching his head.

"The boss. Like I said, who said I'm here to fight it?"

"You're not?" Misaka frowned.

"I'm not."

"Then why are you here?"

"No reason."

He looked like he was about to say more, but Diavel interrupted right then.

"All right! Are you guys done partying?" He called loudly. He didn't wait for anyone to protest before continuing, "Now—"

"Hold it!"

The man with spiky hair that had tried to stab Misaka was standing at the top of the seats, yelling out an objection. Misaka frowned. _When did he get up there?_ He hopped down the seats in big leaps, skidding to a stop at the bottom.

"The name's Kibaou. There's something that I need to get off my chest. I'm positive that there are some amongst you that should be apologizing for those who have died so far."

Misaka tightened her fists and bit her lip sharply.

"Kibaou-san, the people that you're referring to are the beta testers, correct?" Diavel asked.

"Of course I am!" Kibaou yelled. "On the day that this crappy game started, the beta testers disappeared, abandoning all us beginners. They monopolized the good hunting grounds and profitable quests, prioritizing themselves over others. And afterwards, they feigned ignorance for doing so." He bit his lip and hollered, "Some of you are sure to be beta testers! We should have them kneel in apology and hand over the money and items they've been hoarding! I cannot and _will_ not entrust my life to such people!"

Misaka and Kirito's expressions both tensed with guilt as they thought, _Oh, crap._

The teenage boy with the dyed hair thought and then suddenly raised his hand. "Okay, I'm a beta tester."

"Are you an idiot?!" Misaka hissed.

"You shouldn't just—!" Kirito protested at the same time.

But the boy cut them both of carelessly, giving Kibaou a taunting smirk. His dark purple eyes seemed to going with mischief. "So? What are you going to do?"

"Y-You—" Kibaou stuttered, obviously not expecting this. "You cheater! Take responsibility for all the deaths and kneel on the ground—!"

"And if I say no?" The boy asked teasingly. He was mocking the poor man—Misaka could easily tell.

Kibaou struggled with an answer, and he finally drew his sword. "I-I-I—I'll make you—"

"How?"

Kibaou fell silent, and he seemed stumped for an answer. The boy saved him from replying by laughing loudly.

"I'm joking. I'm not actually a beta tester."

"Which one is it, dammit?!" Kibaou shouted, obviously furious.

The boy shrugged. "Who knows? But you've made things interesting enough for me, so I'll be staying for a while now."

Kibaou looked like he had more to say, but suddenly, a shadow came over him.

"Mind if I speak?"

He looked up to see a big, muscular man standing in front of him, looking down at him coldly; evidently, he a had used the time provided by the teen's merciless taunts to walk down from the seats to the stage.

Kibaou swallowed. "Wh-What do you want?"

"My name is Agil. Kibaou-san, basically you're saying that the beta testers should take responsibility for the many deaths by apologizing and offering reparations because they didn't look after the new players, right?"

"Y-Yeah."

Agil pulled a small book from his pocket. "This is the guidebook…I believe you have one too. It's up for free at the item shop, after all."

"I do." Kibaou looked less confident. "What about it?"

"The people who distributed those…were former beta testers," Agil replied.

The crowd started to look uncertain, and Agil took this chance to speak to all of them. "Listen, this information was available to everyone, yet many players died. What I thought we'd be discussing is how to fight the boss using these deaths."

"He's right…"

Kibaou spat and stormed over to the seats, plopping down hard. Agil sat as well, and Diavel took control again.

"Okay. May I continue? About the boss, the truth is, the guidebook that was just mentioned had information on it in its latest version," Diavel explained. "His name is «Illfang the Kobold Lord»…"

"Tch." The teenage boy standing at the exit of the conference ring made a noise of annoyance before abruptly turning and leaving.

Misaka saw this and frowned, pursing her lips slightly. _He really didn't come here for the boss raid. Then why is he here?_

 **Mm, this chapter was kind of short, and I think equally as uneventful, aside from character personality explorations/introductions. If anyone else has questions about anything, feel free to ask, and I'll explain everything as best as I can. I'll probably finish posting up to the fight against the first boss for now (chapters daily) and then see how far I am in the next part before I decide on any kind of posting schedule. I hope you enjoyed though :) Please do tell me what you think so far!**

 **~Chikage**

 **PS Happy Halloween everyone! Who else is sitting at home handing candy to kids (aka eating half the bag) and procrastinating on homew** **ork? :D**

 _A small preview:_

 _Chapter 3: Party Preparations_

 _Misaka has her eyes set on finding out more about this mysterious boy as well as getting him to join her party! Kirito has some quality talk time with Asuna (wiggles eyebrows). Meanwhile, an argument is going on between this teenager and beta tester hater Kibaou?_


	3. Chapter 3: Party Preparations

**Here comes the third chapter! Please enjoy! (The action stuff will all be coming starting next chapter, so right now we have some lovely bonding time! :)  
~Chikage**

 ***Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, only my own characters and the plot, or the cover picture**

 **Chapter 3: Party Preparations**

"Misaka!"

The twintailed girl turned to see Kirito run up to her.

"Ah, Kirito. What's up?"

"Erm…have you seen her around?" Kirito asked awkwardly.

"Her?" Misaka repeated. "Oh, you mean Asuna. I think she's sitting over there."

"All right, thanks." He turned and then paused, asking her, "Are you ready for tomorrow's raid?"

"Well, I have to be," Misaka said with a bitter smile.

"I guess that's true," Kirito remarked.

"But it shouldn't be that bad," Misaka commented. "Right, Beta Tester-san?"

"So you knew."

"Yeah."

"But don't worry," Misaka gave him a small smile as she turned in search of someone else, but she kept her eyes fixed on Kirito as she spoke. "Me too."

"Yeah, I know."

She and Kirito split ways in search of different people.

Although, truthfully, it really didn't take Misaka long to find the teen with the colorful hair.

He seemed to be in a heated argument with the beta tester hater, Kibaou. Diavel and several other players were watching them with uncertain eyes, not knowing how to stop them.

"What do you want, you damn beta tester?" Kibaou demanded. "Did you come here to mock us beginners?"

"I'm not a beta tester," The boy said irritably. "Beta testers aren't worth crap."

"Liar! You're definitely a beta—"

"How do you know that? You've only ever talked to me."

"You said so!"

"I said that was a joke."

"That isn't something to joke about!"

"See if I care," The teen said in annoyance, yawning. "But there's no way I'd ever be a beta tester."

 _He does care._ Miasma deadpanned to herself, though she didn't say it out loud as she didn't want to intrude on the argument

"Yeah, right, you lia—"

"You know," Kibaou was mercilessly cut off as the teen spoke again in a sharp tone. His purple-black eyes looked down at the man like he was the lowest trash, and Kibaou stiffened violently. " _I hate people like you the most._ "

"Wh-What?" Kibaou stammered.

"Hey, you—" Diavel tried to protest, but there was no room for him to interfere.

"You really went and spouted a bunch of crap, didn't you?"

"What the hell do you want?"

"You said beta testers abandoned all beginners. That's only natural—you would too, if you were one. They have to pay for the deaths that happened? That's stupid. It's their fault for dying. Beta testers had nothing to do with it. And even if you say that, they're not going to just obediently obey you. The gaming system won't let you force them either. So frankly, it's _pointless._ "

"You—!" Kibaou sputtered, enraged, but the boy wasn't done yet.

"What came next again? Oh, right—"I cannot and _will_ not entrust my life to such people," was it?" He gave the older man a mocking smile as he repeated the line word for word.

Kibaou's face flushed slightly in embarrassment. "Yeah. What about it?"

" _Nobody asked you to_ ," He said coldly. "If you don't want to then take the damn boss down yourself."

"…!"

Surprise was apparent on all of their faces. Soloing the boss? That wasn't even worth discussing. The only result would be death. It couldn't even be used as a joke.

But this teen didn't seem to be joking. His purple-black eyes stayed narrowed as he finished venomously, " _Don't blame your own incompetency on others' success._ "

"Wha—?!" Kibaou sputtered. "Hold it, you bastard! Are you looking for a fight?"

"No way, that'd be like fighting a boar. Or like, I'd rather fight the boar than you."

A boar—the most low-level monster you could find in «Sword Art Online». In other words, a fight not even worth attempting.

"You looking down on me, huh?!"

"No duh."

"I've had enough!"

Diavel interrupted, and all eyes turned to face him as he pushed forward.

"Please do not insult other players this way."

"Insult? I'm just saying the truth. Not to mention, if you want to blame someone for insulting players, shouldn't you be talking to him? Beta testers are also players who risk their lives, after all," The teen replied casually, turning his head from where he had been about to leave.

"Tch," Kibaou spat.

Diavel narrowed his eyes. "Which party are you in?"

"Huh? I'm not here to—"

"He's with me."

Diavel and Kibaou both turned.

Misaka stood there with both of her hands on her hips and her legs spread slightly, her blue eyes looking slightly annoyed. She stepped forward and grabbed his arm before he could protest, telling Diavel, "Sorry for the hassle. Not that I don't agree with him though."

Stating the honest truth bluntly as usual, she dragged the teen she had been looking for away from the other players.

He probably could've pulled away from her if he wanted to, as her strength stats weren't all that high, but he didn't. He let her lead him to a dark alleyway, where she quickly let go of his hand and turned around to face him.

He sighed, reaching up and scratching his colorful head. "What do you want?"

"That's my line, isn't it?" Misaka scolded, folding her arms crossly. "Why are you here if you don't plan on participating in the boss raid, anyway?"

"Because someone told me something rather interesting," He replied nonchalantly. "I wanted to see it with my own eyes. _The Devil playing the Knight._ "

"Hah?" Misaka looked confused.

"Never mind, it's not important. Ahh, I thought something interesting might happen in today's meeting, but it was as boring as hell. As I thought, I shouldn't have come—hey, what the hell are you doing?"

The teen broke off suddenly when a party request popped up in front of him. Misaka looked at him pointedly, her menu pulled up in front of her.

The boy immediately raised his hand and reached for the red decline circle, but Misaka grabbed him by the wrist and forced his hand to stop.

He sighed and dropped his hand to his side. "Seriously, what do you want?"

"If you're a beta tester—"

"I'm not."

"—you should take responsibility and try your best for all the people that died, right?"

"I just said I'm not. And why should I care about people who can't even look after their own lives?"

Misaka bit her lip nervously and looked aside. Finally, she looked back up at him. "I…I have this really strange sense of intuition."

"So what?"

"One time, I could feel something wrong with one of my classmates that I didn't even know…like he was stressed and depressed or something…I found out the next day that his mother had died the night before."

"Like I said, so what?"

" _You're strong._ "

The boy paused and blinked. "…huh?"

"That's what my intuition is telling me," Misaka looked up at him with a steely, resolved look. "That's why I want you to party with me and help us take down the first boss—Illfang the Kobold Lord."

The boy scowled. "And like I said, so what?"

"Selfish coward."

Misaka muttered those words quietly, shooting her gaze down to the ground in disgust. This seemed to do the trick, as the teen seemed to snap suddenly.

"Who are you calling a coward?"

"Who else would I be calling a coward besides you?"

The boy thought for a while, and then scratched his head and sighed. "Fine then, tell me. The boss battle—is it interesting?"

"Interesting?" Misaka's shoulders trembled. "Is that all you care about? You're sick. People are dying and you want things to be _interesting_ for you to do it? You're seriously messed up. Go see a mental hospital."

"Yeah, no."

The boy's hand raised again to reach for the red button.

"Wait—" Misaka's hand shot forward at the same time to stop his.

He read her move and took a step back at the same time—

"Oh, there you are! Misaka!"

Kirito's head poked out from behind the corner right then, and the boy's heel slipped into a dent due to surprise. Misaka's hand touched his and there was a small _beep_ as they both crashed to the ground—the girl on top of the boy. Anyone could get the wrong impression if they found them like that.

But neither of them cared about that.

"….Ah."

They both looked up to see the request panel vanish. At the same time, a separate pop-up appeared in front of Misaka, and she read it.

«Another player has joined your party».

"Tch." The boy's dark purple eyes narrowed and he bit down on his lip so hard he lost some of his HP. Or so he would have, if they weren't in a safe zone. "Damn you."

"…Huh?" Kirito blinked in confusion.

"That wasn't how I intended for that to happen, but," Misaka pulled herself off of the teenage boy and dusted off her skirt, "Welcome to the party. We leave tomorrow ten in the morning. Not that I'm expecting anything from you."

"Yeah, right," The boy sighed, leaning his head back against the wall with no intentions of standing. "Just so you know, I don't plan on fighting. I'll watch you guys destroy yourselves, though."

"I saw that coming," Misaka tossed her hair over her shoulder as she turned and exited the alley. "But that's fine with me."

"Tch."

"What happened?" Kirito looked confused, glancing over at Misaka when she walked past him. "Did I interrupt something?"

"No," Misaka gave him a smile. "Good work, Kirito."

"Right…"

Misaka walked back towards where the other members of the raid were gathered briskly, her heels clicking on the stone ground. Her ponytails swished as she walked, and her blue eyes looked upwards towards her own name cursor.

Underneath her name, Kirito's name, and then Asuna's name, she read the name of their new party member.

«Tsubasa».

 **Urgh...oh Jesus, I'm amazed at how short I'm making these chapters. I'm sorry. I'm sure tomorrow's will be longer. It's because I have a bad habit of having these big, huge long chapters at a time so I'm trying to keep it short for read...I even cut it in half. Sorry. But again, next chapter's an action chapter, so have high hopes! (Action is my favorite genre to write, by the way). I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Thanks again to** Da Kaleidoscope **for reviewing! :)  
~Chikage**

 **PS. By the way...everything Tsubasa said to Kibaou about his beta-tester-hater speech aside from the soloing the boss part...You can tell he's not my favorite character. I feel like he's too quick to judge. And poor Kirito :(I hope it made some sense in your opinion, even if he was being overly harsh (lol even I know that).**


	4. Chapter 4: First Boss Thrills

**Hello again :) I'm sorry I forgot the preview last time. I only just started doing that. But it's only been one day, so it's all right, right? I think things start getting more excited now, so stay tuned! Thanks for those who read my previous chapters, and I hope you take the time to tell me what you think!  
~Chikage**

 ***Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, only my own characters and the plot. I don't own the cover picture either.**

 **Chapter 4: First Boss Thrills**

Passing through the forest field, the four-member party stayed to the back and reviewed their battle plan.

"Since we're the only ones who don't have a full party of six," Kirito began, "we're to target the guard mobs called the Ruin Kobold Sentinels."

"I know," Misaka and Asuna said simultaneously.

"I'll deflect their pole axes with a sword skill, one of you guys will switch in."

"Can't you be more specific than that?" Misaka muttered.

"Well, that's—" Kirito said sheepishly.

"Just so we're clear, I'm not fighting," Tsubasa said in a bored tone as he walked with his arms folded behind his head. "Don't expect me to be your back-up hero."

"We know," Misaka said dismissively. "And we won't be saving you, either, so stay out of trouble."

"I won't," Tsubasa replied, "but if I do, I'll ditch you guys and take the stupid thing down myself."

"Right." That one word expressed all of Misaka's skepticism.

Tsubasa shrugged.

"Um…" Asuna spoke up hesitantly. "What's a switch?"

Kirito and Misaka both gave her a curious look of doubt.

"Could this be your first time in a party?" Kirito asked.

"Yes," Asuna replied.

Kirito stopped in shock, and the rest of them stopped as well (only a few feet ahead of him as they hadn't realized he'd stopped). Misaka sighed. "That's pretty unusual, to have not been in a party in this game."

"Is it really?" Asuna inquired.

"Why? I haven't been in one either."

"Nobody asked you," Misaka scoffed to Tsubasa as she continued walking. "Come on, Kirito, the rest of them aren't waiting for us."

Kirito slumped over with a heavy sigh.

"Also, can you fight with that cloak on?"

"Yeah, it's no problem…"

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

In front of the boss room, Diavel struck his sword into the ground. "Listen up, everyone. I have just one thing I want to say." He smiled and raised his fist. "Let's win!"

The rest of the raid party all swallowed nervously.

"Here we go!"

The door opened to a large chamber held up by stone pillars. A long hallway stretched forward for about 20 meters, and the room was dark in all directions, making it hard to see anything. Sitting at the very end of the hallway was the boss monster: a giant muscular ox-like creature about two meters tall. The moment the players stepped inside, the room changed in a flash, lighting up in an uncomfortable display of colors. «Illfang the Kobold Lord» leaped out and met them at the doorway, roaring loudly.

It had red fur covering its body, with certain patches of grey. It had copper red, bloodthirsty eyes, and carried a bone axe in one hand and a circular shield in the other. It had on a purple loincloth and a helmet, along with a long tail sticking out from behind. Four green HP bars were on its cursor.

Following its roar, three minions appeared, each carrying a pole axe—the three «Ruin Kobold Sentinels». They charged forward, aiming to defend the boss, and Diavel raised his sword and pointed forward.

"Commence attack!"

With a battle cry, all of the members of the raid party charged forward. They met each other halfway, sword against axe, held at a deadlock. Sword swings activated, blades clashed, and people roared loudly.

Tsubasa stood against a stone pillar off to the side, his eyes narrowed and his purple-black eyes scrutinizing the boss closely.

Diavel yelled out orders to the teams, telling them to switch and block with specific instructions.

"Squads D, E, and F! Keep the Sentinels off us!"

"Roger!" Kirito called and slashed forward with a strong sword skill. "Switch!"

Asuna charged in, calling out, "This is the third!"

Her rapier pierced forward at lightning fast speeds. Misaka smiled shortly. _Heh…she's not bad. It's hard to get sword swings to be that fast._

The Sentinel was pierced through five times and vanished. Kirito smiled to himself. "Good job."

Another one spawned behind him and struck down straight towards the back of his head, but Kirito spun around and fended off its swing with another sword skill. It blew it backwards, and he went to chase it down—

"Kirito, switch. I got it."

Before he even realized it, Misaka blew past him in a blur. All he saw was a flurry of a black from her two ponytails, and then a dark blue tinted silver blade pierced straight through the sentinel.

From behind.

Kirito looked surprised. _When did she…?!_

Misaka smiled wryly as she spun «Amano Maihime» expertly in her hands, the minion bursting into polygons. "Well, if anything, I'm somewhat confident in my speed."

 _Somewhat, she says…I've never seen anyone go that fast before,_ Kirito thought. _And she was able to stop herself with enough time to strike it perfectly balanced…_ He smiled. _She's not bad either._

But before he could say anything to her, there was a sudden loud roar from Illfang that was different from the rest, drawing both of their attention back to the boss. Its health had entered the red and was dropping slowly, and its eyes glowed red. It threw away its bone axe and shield.

"Just like the guidebook said," Kibaou smiled.

"Stand back."

Suddenly, Diavel charged through the ranks by himself, sword and shield at the ready.

"I'll go!"

It was the part of the plan where they were supposed to surround him together and attack. They all looked confused at the sudden change, but Misaka's blue eyes narrowed.

She remembered Tsubasa's comment from last night.

 _"I wanted to see it with my own eyes. The Devil playing the Knight."_

She bit her lip. _Diavel…he…he's a beta tester! He's after the rare item included in the last attack bonus! And after creating a whole plan around teamwork… How selfish can he get? At least tell us beforehand, dammit._

But Diavel smiled briefly and raised his sword; it sparked yellow and power spread across it with the use of the sword skill.

However, what Illfang drew from behind its back wasn't a _talwar_ , like they had originally thought. It was a _nodachi_ : a sharp, flat blade with a rectangular shape, almost like a mega-sized butcher knife.

"Stop!" Kirito yelled, but Diavel was already charging in. "Jump back as far as you can!"

Illfang suddenly leaped upwards and pushed off the stone pillar, using the centrifugal spin force of its body to spin through the air above and behind the charging Diavel. It landed on the floor suddenly with a hard thud, using the force of the spin to swing sharply in all directions with a purple light effect. Diavel, being too close, was struck square across the chest. Illfang charged him again, and the stunned commander was sent flying with another blow.

"Diavel-han!" Kibaou called out. Illfang appeared in front of him and roared loudly.

It was almost as if it was trying to say, ' _Beat that, punks!_ '

Tsubasa whistled lightly as he watched. "The omnidirectional katana sword skill, «Tsumujiguruma», huh? So it still had that trick up its sleeve. Clever."

"Diavel!" Kirito ran over to the fallen commander. Misaka joined him, standing before him defensively with her _kodachi_ raised.

"Kirito, do you have a healing potion?"

"Yeah, I've got one—" Kirito pulled it out of his pocket. "Why'd you go alone?"

He reached forward with the potion, but Diavel pushed it away, speaking. "You two were…beta testers, right? I'm sure you know."

Misaka narrowed her eyes, her grip around her _kodachi_ tightening. "Then, you really were…a beta tester as well, weren't you?"

"Eh?" Kirito snapped his head up to look at her in shock, but Diavel just smiled.

"Yeah…the rare item that comes with the last attack bonus."

"You were a beta tester too…?" Kirito looked panic-stricken.

Diavel just continued smiling. "Please…defeat…defeat the boss…for everyone."

And he shattered into a bunch of flying polygons.

Kirito stared down into his empty hands, aghast. The other members of the raid all looked shocked beyond words as well.

Misaka's heart thumped loudly in her chest, and a bead of sweat dripped down her chin. _No…this is just like…with Emina…Emina…_

Meanwhile, Tsubasa had his hand over his face, his dark purple eyes narrowed through his fingers as he watched the other players attack the boss fruitlessly.

He smiled a little to himself. "Hmm…I think I get it now."

"Are you all right?"

Misaka looked up to see the girl with the red cloak standing in front of her, sounding worried. She forced herself to swallow and stood up straight, pulling her hair out of her eyes and slapping her cheeks, shaking her head to snap out of it. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

Asuna nodded and moved to stand next to Kirito, who had risen to his feet and turned to face the boss again. The boss had scattered the other players with a roar, and without a commander, they were all scared, anxious, and panicked.

Kirito's grip tightened around his sword.

"I'll help," Asuna said.

"Me as well," Misaka stepped up also, raising her _kodachi_. _I can't stop here…I swore I'd avenge Emina. No matter what._

"Thanks."

Kirito leaned forward to charge—

"Hey, you three. Hold up."

"Huh?" Kirito, Asuna, and Misaka all looked behind them when Tsubasa walked up to them suddenly.

"What?" Misaka asked more sharply than she had intended.

Tsubasa ran a hand across his colorful hair. "I'm only saying this once, so listen up. The first strike comes from the left. The second is from the top right, the third from the right again; the fourth is a strike aimed straight down, the sixth from the left, and the seventh vertically forward."

He paused briefly to take a breath.

"The first strike of the eighth is a feint into an uppercut straight into a horizontal slash. The ninth will follow up with a vertical slice straight down. Then he'll vanish and try to attack you from behind with the omnidirectional katana skill used on that party leader, «Tsumujiguruma»*—and even more so if you surround him. The first, eighth, ninth, and tenth blows will all be sword skills."

Another short pause.

"He'll follow that up with a bunch of sword skills if you successfully avoid all of those. After the «Tsumujiguruma» attack, his reaction speed should lower a bit, so try to end it then. Oh, and when he's cornered, the blows typically come in from the right side. That's my prediction."

Misaka, Kirito, and Asuna were all stunned silent by this sudden onslaught of information.

"But first…"

Before Misaka's eyes could fully comprehend what was happening, Tsubasa suddenly drew his sword from behind his back and slammed it upwards, holding Illfang's _nodachi_ at a standstill in the air with only one hand. The weapon of the boss was caught in his sword and forced in a death hold, the player's arm keeping it in place with incredible strength.

"Learn to keep your eye on your enemy at all times, will you?"

With that blunt insult, he swung upwards forcefully and sent the _nodachi_ out of striking range. Then, without bothering to chase it down, he turned around and headed back to the safe area, twirling his sword in his hand.

Misaka was stunned by his sword. It wasn't a broadsword like she had expected—the black blade itself was rather thin: about the thickness of Kirito's sword, really. But sprouting from the blade were several large, curly prongs that looked like ivy vines growing from a tree branch.

Tsubasa shrugged off her stare carelessly as he shoved the sword back down its sheath, which was wide enough to cover all of the prongs safely.

Kirito looked doubtful, but he turned back around to face the boss. "Let's go!"

As the three of them all charged forward, Misaka called, "Let's use the same strategy as with the Sentinels."

"Got it," Kirito and Asuna both responded.

As they charged, Misaka's mind couldn't help but flit back to Tsubasa's instructions.

 _The first strike is a sword swing from the left._

Illfang held the _nodachi_ at its side as it initiated a sword skill, the blade lighting up in a bright blue light. It slashed across in a horizontal strike, which Kirito met with a sword skill of his own.

"Switch!" He yelled as he fell backwards.

Asuna charged forward, her sword skill and rapier ready, but then Illfang's eyes flashed red.

 _The second is a strike from the top right._

"Asuna!" Kirito and Misaka both yelled out simultaneously.

Misaka added to her holler, "The right! Watch the right!"

Asuna reacted to her name as well as Misaka's instructions, ducking down. The blow destroyed her red cloak, revealing her long chestnut-colored hair and the braided crown across her head. Her same colored eyes narrowed as she brought her rapier forward and mercilessly flung the boss back. Kirito looked stunned for a minute, possibly by her beauty, but he recovered quickly, especially at Misaka's call. "He's coming back!"

Kirito shot forward with his sword at the ready, blocking several more of Illfang's strong blows with his black sword. While he fought, Misaka sped through the boss's preoccupied defenses, her blue eyes narrowed in determination. _Please, make it…_

Kirito swung his sword across again, activating a blue sword skill—

Suddenly, Misaka remembered Tsubasa's words again.

 _The eighth strike is a feint into an uppercut straight into a horizontal slash._

"No! Kirito!" She shouted. "Jump back!"

It was too late. Kirito swung his sword to meet the attack, but it vanished and his sword hit air.

His eyes widened. _Crap—_

The _nodachi_ came up from the bottom in a sharp uppercut, which struck the swordsman square in the chest, and then another crisp horizontal blow sent him flying backwards and straight into Asuna. Both collapsed on the ground, and Kirito's HP depleted massively.

Misaka couldn't believe it herself. She completely forgot about her own attack as her feet remained rooted to the ground. _How…why…_

She forgot about the next attack.

 _The ninth will follow up with a vertical slice straight down._

"No!" She cried as Illfang swung the _nodachi_ down towards Asuna's single defenseless rapier—

A flash of green burst across, and the man named Agil's large double axe deflected the blow and blew the boss back. It skidded across the ground on all fours, snarling at the interference.

Misaka narrowed her eyes as the other players charged in, remembering her mission. Her feet carried her forward in a running start, and then she took a powerful leap in the air. Before Illfang could stand up again, she was falling towards him with her _kodachi_ flaring a bright pink.

Illfang vanished, and she froze.

 _Then he'll vanish and try to attack you from behind with the omnidirectional katana skill used on that party leader, «Tsumujiguruma»—and even more so if you surround him._

Misaka bit down on her lip as she saw it appear behind her out of her peripheral vision.

"Misaka!" Kirito yelled.

 _I can't die here!_

 ***«Tsumujiguruma» : «Whirling Wheel»**

 **And that's that! :) I hope you enjoyed. I tried really hard to write the action scenes (I had to scrutinize the second episode so hard to get the directions of the incoming attacks lol (if there's anything wrong, sorry)). But yay, we're finally getting to the fighting part! :) I'm happy~ Anyway, I'll post chapter five tomorrow (sorry for the cliffhanger)!**

 **~Chikage**

 **By the way, I'm sorry for this crappy preview. It's hard to come up with something that isn't a spoiler.**

 _A small preview:_

 _Misaka's in trouble! How will she use get herself out of it? How will this raid party pull through the battle with Diavel gone?_ _And what kind of trivial arguments come from the other beta-testing hating players?_


	5. Chapter 5: Beta Tester Plus Cheater

**Have some spare time, so I decided to post earlier today! :) Enjoy~ I hope the battle scene stays to your expectations.  
~Chikage**

 ***Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, only the plot and my own characters. Cover picture is not mine either.**

 **Chapter 5: Beta Tester + Cheater**

 _I can't die here!_

Misaka swung her leg over her body and dropped sharply, stabbing her sword into a nearby pillar and forcing herself to change directions. She spun her thin body around at an angle, initiating a forceful spin that took her through the air.

"No way—she can't be!" Kirito exclaimed. "Is she trying to copy Illfang's omnidirectional katana sword skill?!"

"That's crazy! She doesn't even have a katana!" Agil protested.

"Heh…" Tsubasa whistled as he watched her, his hand held up and over his head, closed around his sword hilt tightly.

Misaka tucked her head in to change directions and boost herself forward, using the force generated by Illfang's spinning momentum to push herself past the boss. Once she was behind it, she opened herself spread-eagle to stop her own spinning. She turned a flip in midair, dropping straight down onto the still-spinning Illfang.

Illfang's _nodachi_ sliced through the air and towards her head, but she changed the grip on her _kodachi_ with one lightning fast movement—if she wasn't quick enough, «Amano Maihime» would've fallen straight to the ground and her head would've went flying. She met the _nodachi_ with the end of her blade, holding the short sword like a knife being stabbed straight down.

With a clang, she was able to force Illfang's weapon into a deadlock with hers, and she brought her leg straight down onto its undefended back, shooting both herself and it down to the ground with the help of gravity.

While attacks with body parts had little to no effect in the virtual world, this would at least give her an edge to attack. Illfang dropped its hold with her _kodachi_ in order to catch itself on all fours, leaving her weapon open for attack.

Misaka bit down on her lip, steeled herself, and slammed her glowing kodachi straight down in a simple «Stab» attack.

She was able to take away a good chunk of the boss's already depleted HP, and she checked her results as she rolled away from the boss and into the mass of players watching her battle with stunned eyes.

The HP bar was below 30%—but it wasn't good enough.

Illfang released another roar, stunning the still shocked players into place, and then leaped in the air, activated another sword skill, and aimed to stab straight down at Agil and some other players.

"Dammit!" Misaka's grip tightened on «Amano Maihime» and she leaned forward to defend—

"Watch out!"

Kirito was faster, forcing himself to his feet and charging forward with his sword skill ready. He took a running start before leaping up into the air, his sword glowing blue as he brought it across to meet Illfang's attack.

"Reach it!"

He was able to block off the first blow, flipping up into the air expertly and using his sword to send Illfang straight down, where it slammed into the ground in another puff of white smoke.

Kirito somersaulted onto the ground from the air and charged in again with his sword raised, calling over his shoulder, "Asuna! One last hit! Help me out!"

Asuna narrowed her eyes and charged in as well, her rapier at the ready. "Roger!" When Misaka looked like she wanted to move in as well, the girl in red called over to her, "You should recover for now!"

Misaka reluctantly stepped back and released her offensive stance, glancing up at her HP bar to see that she was at least 50% already.

Kirito and Asuna closed in on Illfang, who had recovered from the fall, and the boss raised its _nodachi_ with the use of a glowing pink sword skill—

 _Oh, and when he's cornered, the blows typically come in from the right side._

Tsubasa's reminder flashed in Misaka's mind suddenly, and she whirled around to look at the boy, who was standing against a stone pillar only a few feet from her. Tsubasa saw her look and smiled at her lazily, releasing his grip on the hilt of his sword. Misaka narrowed her eyes and turned back to watch Kirito and Asuna—

The _nodachi_ came in from the right.

Kirito easily deflected it, however, forcing its grip on the _nodachi_ to loosen, and Asuna didn't miss this chance to charge in and blow it out of its hands with a sharp and quick «Thrust». Kirito then stepped in and slashed straight downwards, dealing a critical blow and embedding a red line of virtual blood diagonally across Illfang's entire upper body, and then from the bottom straight back up in a strong «Vertical Arc».

The blue sword skill pierced through Illfang like butter and drawing a second red line through the upper body, creating a V with the two lines. The effects of the sword skills caused Illfang's body to flash bright blue as its HP depleted even more.

The first floor boss shattered in a shower of polygons.

As the large 'Congratulations!' appeared in the air, the players all erupted in cheers.

"W-We did it!"

Misaka stood in shock, «Amano Maihime» nearly falling from her grip, but she grabbed it tightly at the last second. _No…No way…_

She couldn't even think about Emina. Her mind was too preoccupied with stunned disbelief.

Tsubasa smiled mischievously and asked her, "So? How were they, my predictions?"

 _Predictions my foot,_ Misaka's blue eyes were wide with bewilderment. She didn't even notice when the room darkened again. _Every single one of those was spot on! The attack patterns, the use of sword skills, the angles and reaction timings…what was that? That's not even a prediction! It's almost as if he could see the future!_

 _I never thought this would happen. I knew that my intuition was telling me he was strong, but this…even though he hasn't fought at all, I can already tell…_

 _He's a real demon!_

"Good work," Agil told Kirito, who was still kneeling on the ground. Misaka put Tsubasa out of her mind and stepped up to join him and Asuna next to the hero of the day. "That was some excellent swordsmanship you showed. This victory belongs to you."

"No—" Kirito tried to protest, still short of breath, but the cheering and clapping of the other players broke him off. He still looked doubtful, but he started to smile—

Kibaou broke the cheers. "Why?! Why…Why'd you let Diavel-han die?!"

"That's not—" Misaka tried to protest.

"Let him die?" The other players looked at him, confused.

Kibaou blinked tears from his eyes. "Exactly! You knew the boss's moves! If you shared what you knew beforehand, he wouldn't have died!"

This caused the crowd to look distrustful, shooting Kirito suspicious looks.

"He must have been a beta tester!" One accused.

Misaka flinched, her grip tightening around «Amano Maihime» so hard her knuckles turned white.

"That's how he knew the boss's attack patterns. He knew, but he didn't tell us!" The player continued. "And he's not the only one, is he? Admit it, beta testers!"

While the crowd traded suspicious looks, Tsubasa leaned against the wall and shrugged, a careless glint in his purple eyes.

Suddenly, Kirito laughed.

They all turned to look at him, and he stood up. "A beta tester? Don't put me in the same category as those newbies."

"W-What?!"

"The majority of SAO's one thousand beta testers," Kirito said as he walked through the crowd towards where Kibaou, Asuna, and Agil were, "were amateurs who didn't even know how to level. Even you guys are better than them. But I, for one, am different."

He stopped in front of Kibaou.

"During the beta test, I reached floors that nobody could. I knew the boss's attack patterns because I've fought plenty of katana-wielding monsters on floors far above this one. I know a lot more than that, too. More than any information broker."

"W-What?" Kibaou stammered. "That's…forget about being a beta tester! You're a cheater! A cheater!"

"Yeah, a cheater! A cheater!"

"Both a beta tester and a cheater….so you're a beater!"

""Beater," huh?" Kirito repeated with a smile. "That's not a bad name. That's right, I'm a beater. From now on, don't think of me as a mere beta tester."

He accessed his inventory and equipped an item—the Cloak of Midnight, the rare item he had received from the last attack bonus.

He smirked and left the room.

Misaka sat down hard on the floor and lowered her head. "Kirito…"

 _He did all that for us beta testers…and I…I…_

Her blue eyes narrowed as she looked up and said coldly, "I'm pissed. That stupid self-sacrificing moron."

"Hey."

Misaka looked up at Asuna, who smiled down at her sheepishly.

"Earlier, you yelled my name, right?"

"Ah…" Misaka remembered the moment. "Yeah. What about it?"

"How did you know it?"

"Eh?" Misaka blinked.

"I never told you…"

Misaka thought for a moment. _My intuition is speaking again…_ "How should I know?" She asked flatly. "Go ask Kirito. That self-sacrificing idiot should know."

"Oh, okay…" Asuna looked hesitant, but then she turned and started to leave before pausing in her steps and turning back to smile at Misaka. "But he probably did it for the sake of the beta testers, right?"

"And that's exactly why he's an idiot," Misaka complained. And then she thought and gave a small smile, holding out her hand. "Well, since you don't know, my name's Misaka. It was nice working with you, Asuna!"

Asuna took it with a beam. "Yeah, same here!"

"Now, go chase him down before you lose him," Misaka commanded, using Asuna's hand to pull herself to her feet and dust off her skirt.

"Thanks, Misaka!" Asuna dashed after him.

Misaka shrugged to herself. _I guess I was right again. She really wanted to see him, huh?_

"Misaka, huh?"

Misaka looked up and saw Agil looking at her with a smile. She let out a small huff. "Is something the matter?"

"No. I was just thinking, you were pretty impressive too."

"Maybe." Misaka sheathed her _kodachi_ at her side carefully.

"Were you trying to do the omnidirectional katana sword skill?"

"There's no way I could do that with a _kodachi_ ," Misaka stated as the two of them headed towards the stairs as well. "I just thought it was the only way to avoid that attack at the time."

Agil chuckled. "It was risky. You could've died."

"Maybe."

Agil looked like he wanted to say something else, but Misaka cut him off by turning suddenly, her ponytails swishing.

"Sorry. There's a bone I have to pick with someone too. You can go on ahead."

But Agil stayed where he was, confused.

Misaka planted her feet into the ground, folding her arms crossly as Tsubasa approached her.

Tsubasa sighed and scratched his head. "What do you want now? You're a nuisance, you know."

"Liar." Misaka's accusation cut across the air cleanly. "You're a beta tester, right?"

Tsubasa lowered his hand and sighed, giving her a doubtful and confused look. "And why do you think that?"

"There's no way you could come up with such an elaborate defense plan if you weren't!" Misaka raised her voice for once, and she was almost shouting. She drew the attention of the players again, and even Kirito and Asuna stopped from where they had been talking halfway up the stairs. "Every single detail was included—the attacks, the angles, timing, use of sword skills, and even defensive patterns! That's not natural!"

"I knew it!" Kibaou accused. "You're a beta tester as well—"

"Quit spouting crap."

Misaka flinched slightly when Tsubasa's dark purple eyes glared at her suddenly from underneath his colorful hair. She clenched her hand in a fist.

"How then? How did you know it in such detail?"

Tsubasa sighed and looked aside. "Even if you ask me to explain it to losers like you…"

"What did you say?!" A player yelled.

"You cheated too, didn't you? Just like that guy over there!"

"You beater!"

"Didn't I already say this? _Stop blaming your own incompetence on others' success._ "

The entire crowd went quiet with that one merciless sentence. Tsubasa narrowed his eyes and faced Misaka.

"I'm just different from you. I have both the fighting sense and the gaming sense needed to battle. A couple of strikes is what it takes to formulate the enemy's attack patterns no matter how suddenly they change."

Misaka stood frozen in shock as Tsubasa met her gaze challengingly. His dark eyes seemed to flash in a blue ring just a little bit.

"Of course, they're not always a hundred percent accurate. That's why I have about five to six different ones. There are almost a million different possibilities, after all. But the gaming system is rather simple when it comes to attack patterns—probably because there's so many. That's why it's easier to predict.

"I'm a cheater? Screw that. I'm just on a different level from you losers. That's why _beta testing is worth crap._ Strategies, plans, anticipations are all worth _crap._ You guys are focused too much on what to anticipate. _Don't anticipate. Expect it._ I'm not a beta tester. I didn't listen to whatever was described during that meeting, either. That's why whether that thing pulled out a katana, a scythe, a talwar, a sickle, a sword, a _nodachi_ —it's all the same. I don't want details to an enemy. Especially not _false_ details. If I don't know if they're accurate, I don't want them at all. I don't need them, either."

A pause.

"But that's also why beta testing makes things boring. It's only fun the first time you do it. I don't want to do it once during beta testing and then have to come back and face the same enemy with the same attack patterns. Where's the fun in that? That's why I've never been a beta tester—and I don't plan on it in the future, either.

"If you want to be strong, _go through hell and make yourself stronger._ You're not doing yourselves any good by blaming others."

Tsubasa broke off with a cough, pressing his hand against his mouth. "Dammit, I've talked too much for one day. Forget it, I'm out of here."

Misaka opened her mouth as he stalked towards the staircase, wanting to say something, but then she stopped.

 _…_

 _"Misaka, I need to tell you something. Even in this world, there are liars."_

 _"Well, of course there are."_

 _"Right. It's not wrong to doubt people. But not everyone's a liar, you know? There are also people who are truthful. Doubt people, but don't accuse them. Even I don't like being accused of something I didn't do, you know what I mean?"_

 _"Sheesh, Emina, what are you, my mother?"_

 _"Hey, I'm just saying! I don't want you to run into any bad people!"_

 _"Do I look stupid?"_

 _"Well, sorry about that! Then let's make it a promise!"_

 _"A promise?"_

 _"A promise not to accuse people without guaranteed facts!"_

 _"What kind of stupid promise is that?"_

 _"Come on, don't be that way! It's more for me than it is for you, really."_

 _"No kidding."_

 _"Shut up, Misaka! Just promise me already!"_

 _"Fine, fine."_

 _…_

 _Emina…sorry!_

Misaka slapped herself on the cheeks loudly all of a sudden, startling Agil and the other players. Her HP depleted slightly, but she didn't care as she ran up the stairs, past Asuna and Kirito, and out the open doors of the boss room. She skidded to a stop at the teleportation gate, breathless.

Tsubasa looked over at her and scowled. "What do you want?"

 _I broke our promise…_

"I'm so sorry!"

To his surprise, she suddenly bowed forward, her body at a nearly perfect ninety degree angle.

"I didn't mean to—I mean, I guess I was kind of upset at what had happened, and then…I'm sorry! I take back everything that I said!"

"Like I care."

Tsubasa reached forward—

A girl suddenly appeared and brushed past him, through the open gate. "Nyahaha! I'm going ahead, Tsu-chan!"

«Argo» vanished through the teleportation gate.

"Yeah, right, you sneaky little rat!"

Before she could stop him, Tsubasa vanished through the gate after the information broker.

She let out a little breath and stood up straighter.

 _Emina…you're so far away…_

Misaka held up her hand, reaching for the ceiling.

 _Will this really be enough?_

 **You hated that ending? Great, so did I. But I wanted to show that Misaka is actually a really nice person at heart and she isn't one of those mean people who are always accusing people...(like Asuna. I mean, I love Asuna and all, but she's really ill-tempered. Maybe that's just around Kirito...?) Meh, I just don't want you to hate my characters right off the bat. But I hope you liked it! :) I tried to move Misaka out of the battle after she played her part because I couldn't steal Kirito and Asuna's spotlight.**

 **I hope everything was up to expectations! Thanks for reading and please do drop in a review to tell me what you thought now that this battle is over!**

 **~Chikage**

 _A small preview:_

 _Chapter 6: Extra Skill Quest_

 _Tsubasa and Argo explore the second floor, and Argo takes Tsubasa to challenge the quest for the «Martial Arts» Extra Skill! How long will it take, and what is the truth behind Argo's whiskers?_


	6. Chapter 6: Extra Skill Quest

**WARNING: THIS IS A FILLER CHAPTER. In other words, it's boring. But I didn't want to omit it, but at the same time didn't know how to make it more interesting...I'm very conflicted about this. Please read and tell me how to improve. Thanks! :)  
~Chikage**

 ***Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, only my own characters and the plotline. Or the cover picture.**

 **Chapter 6: Extra Skill Quest**

"Oi, oi, come on now. If you want to keep up with me then either hide better or fight better," Tsubasa complained as he watched Argo use her claws to strike through a large «Trembling Ox». It was a massive beast nearly two and a half meters tall, and it charged Argo every time she tried to move out of the way.

"Shut up!" Argo yelled as her claws pierced through the monster's face, causing a roar of pain. But it shook its head and quickly charged at her with its horns again. "It's been two months since I was last here—I'm just not used to this savanna landscape yet!"

"Don't blame your incompetency on the geography," Tsubasa replied. His black pronged sword, «Black Obsidian», was drawn with the hilt nestling in his hand comfortably, but he didn't make any move to use it, only sitting on top of a tall rock in the middle of the savanna and watching the battle in amusement.

«Trembling Oxen» were known for their long targeting range and duration, but Argo hadn't expected to run into the monster so soon.

Although—perhaps it had something to do with the leader. Yeah, come to think of it, Tsubasa had _definitely_ rigged something on this monster-filled trip.

"This is all your fault, isn't it?!" She shouted for him to hear.

"How can you say that?" Tsubasa shrugged carelessly, giving her a lazy smile. "Oh, and don't take your eyes off the enemy."

"I'm not!" Argo slashed forward again, but she missed when the bull moved out of the way at the last second and charged her from the side. She moved to grab her «Throwing Pick»—

 _Whatever, I'll end it here._

The «Trembling Ox» suddenly vanished in a shower of polygons, and Argo blinked. "…huh?"

Tsubasa stood there, having jumped down from the top of the rock and stabbed the monster straight down the middle without even using a sword skill.

"Tsu-chan?"

The black pronged sword tip was immediately placed at her neck. "Don't call me that."

"…Right."

"Anyway, I found something even more interesting. Look over there."

Tsubasa pointed his sword forward. Argo turned and almost screamed. Her heart shot up her throat due to her surprise, and she grabbed her throwing pick in one hand, claws in the other. "What's that?!"

"What's that?" Tsubasa smirked. "It's obviously a «Trembling Cow»."

"Well, yeah, but—wait, how do you know that anyway?"

"I don't. It's on the cursor."

"Then why did you say ' _obviously_ '?"

"Why, you can't read?"

"Nyaha, whatever. What are you going to do about this?"

The «Trembling Cow». The female version of the «Trembling Ox»—and also two times larger than the previous two and a half meter beast. A ring was in its nose, its large horns stood up on an end, and between them was something jutting out from its head.

"That's like a mini boss!"

"Isn't that even better?"

"Don't tell me you're going to try to fight it—"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Hey—Tsu-chan!" Argo protested when the teenage boy charged straight into the battle. "That guy's an idiot!"

"Just wait two minutes, Rat!" Tsubasa called over his shoulder.

He kicked off of the ground and charged forward at full force, gripping his sword tightly before stabbing it straight into the ground. As he ran and dragged it behind him, the black sword shot off blue sparks in all directions. Then he planted his front foot at an angle to shift his balance forward as he hefted the large sword up.

As the mini boss was nearly five meters tall, it was impossible for him to be able to deal a fatal blow on the first strike. So he reached up as high as he could and stabbed his sword—complete with the sword skill—straight into the bull's knee joint.

The «Post Motion System» kicked in, rendering him unable to move for a few seconds, but the bull was equally harmed; it had been paralyzed by the electricity provided in the sword skill as well as a huge HP depletion.

Argo looked impressed. _Amazing…the sword skill «Lightning Fall» straight into the joint…No matter how many times I see it, Tsu-chan's fighting always impresses me._

Once he was able to move again, Tsubasa checked to ensure that the «Trembling Ox» was still paralyzed before pushing off his feet and leaping as high as he could in the air, spinning in a full circle and slashing across the main body of the bull.

Several slashes and blows appeared across the large bull's body, increased by the prongs running along the boy's sword. The curved prongs tore through it easily, creating deep red lines all throughout the body. Tsubasa stabbed his sword into the body and used the prongs to boost himself upwards even more, finally rising to its head and raising his sword over his head.

"Boring."

A single slash down—straight through the part jutting from the «Trembling Cow's» head—sent it exploding in polygons. Tsubasa turned a back somersault and landed on the ground cleanly.

"Tch. And I thought it'd actually put up a fight…Lame."

"You actually hit the weakest part of it…"

"Was that it?"

Argo blinked and then laughed. "Nyahaha, your fighting instinct is too crazy! But that aside, just now—was that the sword skill «Deadly Sins»? The one involving slashes, spins, and somersaults for a seven hit combo?"

"Mm…probably…"

 _So he doesn't even know…_

"Oh, I got some kind of reward though."

"It's probably the «Tremble Shortcake», right?" Argo said excitedly as she peered over his shoulder at the bonus rewards panel. "I've heard that it's really good—"

"I don't need something like this. I guess I'll sell it."

"Whaat?!" Argo protested. "Why don't you give it to me?"

"How much will you pay me?" Tsubasa asked absently, messing with his menu.

"…" Argo looked down. She was a business-orientated woman, after all. "I'll let you ask me one question for free. I'll answer truthfully, of course."

Tsubasa was about to decline, but then he thought again and smirked. "Okay. You promise, right?"

Argo stiffened. _Uh-oh. That's the look Tsu-chan gets when he's up to no good._ "Yeah…"

"All right, then, here."

Argo accepted the «Tremble Shortcake» that was delivered to her and waited anxiously for the question.

"So, what kind of quest is waiting at the top of the mountain?"

 _And that one question hit the mark!_

"How did you know?" She protested.

"It's really obvious, with how you're trying to steer me away from it and all."

"And I thought you didn't notice…"

"Ha, yeah, no."

"You're as impeccable as ever, Tsu-cha—"

"Do you have a death wish?"

Argo sighed and turned towards the mountain. "Fine, Tsubasa. I'll tell you as we go. You want to do it, right?"

"Why not? I've got nothing better to do."

"All right. But I'll warn you—there's no turning back once you start."

Tsubasa grinned. "Much like selling your soul to the devil, huh? I'm game. What's the quest?"

Argo's sly smile unnerved him slightly.

"It's the Extra Skill Quest for the «Martial Arts» skill…"

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"So when you said there was no turning back, this is what you meant…"

Tsubasa's purple-black eyes twitched in annoyance as he felt the six lines that had been drawn across his face with make-up using the tips of his fingers. Yes—like Argo, he now had whiskers on his face.

"Nyahahahaha!" Argo collapsed on herself with laughter, pointing at Tsubasa. "You look great, Tsu-chan! It suits you! Kyahahaha!"

"Well, whatever," Tsubasa sighed. "So? What are we doing here, old man?"

"Oho," The NPC chuckled. He was an old man, looking like a typical sage one would find in a magic RPG, complete with bushy white eyebrows, a white beard, and a bald head. He carried a wooden staff in his hand and sat on top of a giant boulder two meters high and one and a half meters wide. "Since you have accepted this quest, you may not go back down the mountain until you complete it."

"Sure, yeah, I got that."

"Your job is to break this rock that I'm sitting on."

Tsubasa frowned as he examined the rock up and down. Then he sighed and scratched his head, sliding his sword from his shoulder and tossing it on the ground. "With my hands, right?"

The NPC looked impressed, snatching up the player's sword in a lightning fast motion. "Oh…"

"Tsu-chan, you know of this quest?" Argo asked curiously, wiping tears from her eyes.

"No. But I figured there was a catch, since it'd be too easy if I could use my sword."

"Heh…" Argo smiled. "That's right, you have to break the boulder without your sword."

"You can use your hands, your legs, or even your head if you have to!" The NPC taunted.

Tsubasa's eyebrow twitches in irritation and he heaved another heavy sigh. "Fine, I got it. I just have to break it, right? Is there a time limit?"

"No. however, like I said, you may not go back down the mountain until you complete it. The whiskers will only disappear once the rock is split."

"Hmm…all right," Tsubasa agreed. And then he brought his leg forward and kicked the boulder at full strength.

The old man hopped off of it before he made contact, watching the boulder shake violently. But the durability didn't go down at all, and Tsubasa clicked his tongue. "Tsk. This is why I hate the gaming system…I don't even have half of the strength I have in the real world. Otherwise it'd be a piece of cake."

"Just how strong are you, seriously…?" Argo sweatdropped.

"I forgot to mention, but the rock has the durability of an «Immortal Object»!" The NPC called out.

But Tsubasa wasn't listening to either of them, frowning in thought. "Hands…legs…head…use my head, huh…"

"You aren't seriously going to—"

"Are you stupid? I'm not suicidal."

"I wonder about that."

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"What are you doing, Tsu-chan?" Argo called out as she watched the boy lie spread eagle on the ground next to the boulder and just stare at the rock he was supposed to break. "It's been two hours and you haven't even touched it yet. The sun'll be going down soon, you know."

"Ahh, shut up," Tsubasa complained, picking up a small, sharp rock from the ground. He ran a hand through his tricolored hair, his annoyance showing clearly on his face. He looked up at the girl looking down at him from the top of a tree branch. "You're disturbing my concentration."

"What concentration?" Argo huffed as she placed her chin on her hand and watched him open his menu, pulling tabs into view. "You look like you're slacking to me. You're going to be here for a week at this rate—"

Tsubasa sat up suddenly, looking at his inventory. "I don't plan on getting started until you leave."

Argo sighed. "Fine, I got it, I'll go, okay? I don't want to be stuck here waiting for you for weeks, so hurry it up!"

"Argo!"

She heard her name being called as she headed off and turned briefly.

"Give me a day and a night."

"…huh?!"

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"The sun will be coming up soon…" Argo complained, yawning. "That Tsu-chan. What is he doing?"

"He probably fell asleep," The NPC commented.

Argo was surprised by the sudden remark from the computerized person, but she shook her head. "No, if it's Tsu-chan, he'd never do that. He's probably up to no good—"

"Hey!"

Argo glanced over her shoulder when she heard his voice calling out to her, and she tipped her head.

"Done for the day already, Tsu-chan? I thought you were—wait, what?!"

She broke off with a sputter when she realized something.

 _The whiskers were gone._

The NPC chuckled. "Oho, you've broken it, then."

"Yeah, it was boring," Tsubasa complained. "Just a matter of striking the core repeatedly."

"The core? Well, yeah, even then it should take you at least three days!"

"Are you just seriously inexperienced or seriously stupid?"

"Well, sorry about that."

"If it takes you that long, then you're doing it wrong."

"Then how did you—"

"I told you, it's just a bunch of repetitive hitting. It's like punching someone in the face."

"Why is it that that's the analogy you use…? Whatever." Argo sighed. And then laughed. "Well, it looks like I ended up underestimating you again, Tsu-chan."

"I'll kill you."

No reply, and Tsubasa scratched his head as he yawned, looking up at the night sky.

"Well, to say the least, you sure gave me a thorn in the side for the day."

"You're welcome."

"Yeah, I'll repay the favor later."

"Nyahaha, I look forward to it!"

Argo had no clue what was in store for her.

Although, of course, Tsubasa didn't either…

These two mischievous (temporary) travel partners moved in search of a new quest on the newly opened second floor.

 **I'm sorry. That was probably really boring. I was going to try to find another way, but I couldn't think of anything that would pass the quest without weapons...sigh. I hope you guys give me some tips! :) I'll gladly appreciate it. I also apologize if I got Argo's personality wrong...this is why I typically don't do anime characters into my own plotline. But I hope it wasn't that bad. Was it?**

 **~Chikage**

 **PS. This is as far as I've written up to...I'm currently on chapter 7. I might have to scrap some of it and restart because I don't like some pieces of it, but I typically don't take that long to write a chapter...I think. It varies. Thank you for your patience in advance!**

 _A small preview:_

 _Chapter 7: A Hidden Quest_

 _With his new skill in use, Tsubasa and Argo set out to find a new, high-level and difficult quest to complete! But an unexpected reunion already?! Can the three players clear this challenging hidden quest together?!_


	7. Chapter 7: A Hidden Quest

**Whew, well, it didn't take me as long as I thought it would! Here's a new chapter! :)  
~Chikage**

 ***Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, only my own characters and the plotline. I don't own the cover picture either.**

 **Chapter 7: A Hidden Quest**

"Tsu-chan, Tsu-chan, wake up!"

"Who are you calling that?"

Argo stiffened when she found a blade at her throat, freezing at the doorway of the inn room.

"Now isn't the time for that."

She grabbed Tsubasa's wrist and turned it aside, and he placed the weapon back on his belt reluctantly. He yawned tiredly, running a hand through his colorful hair.

"So? What business do you want with me this early in the—"

"I found some new information for a hidden quest."

Tsubasa yawned again. "So?"

Silence stretched between the two, and finally, Argo held out her hand.

"What?"

"How much are you going to pay me for it?"

"Are you serious?"

"I never said I'd give it for free."

"Money hog. How much are you expecting?"

"For this information, probably around 3,000 Col."

"Don't try to scam money off of me."

"I'm not scamming. It was really hard to get this information, you know!"

"Seriously…" Another yawn. "I'm not going with you then. I don't see any reason to."

"Three thousand!"

"Yeah, no."

"…" Argo made a face of indecision, hesitating. Finally, she insisted, "Argh! Fine, 1,000 Col!"

"You're terrible, you know that," Tsubasa told her with a mischievous smirk as he transferred the money to her account.

"Whatever!" Argo slapped the accept button before grabbing Tsubasa's hand and dragging him out of the room. "Follow me!"

Tsubasa allowed her to lead him through the thick grasses of the savanna outside the safe area, weaving through a winding, hidden route that only the mind of an information broker could memorize.

They came across an underground cavern, with a hidden entrance slipped within the green grass. Truly, it was not an easy place to find. Most likely, many beta testers were even unable to find it, given the empty area.

However, there was already one player standing before it.

"Misa-chin!" Argo called out cheerfully.

"Argo, if you're going to call me out here, then don't be la—"

She turned and broke off abruptly.

"…Eh."

"…Ah."

The two players both let out involuntary noises of surprise as blue eyes met purple ones.

Tsubasa sighed as he immediately recognized the girl standing before the quest's entrance. He couldn't believe there was yet _another_ nuisance to deal with.

Sure, he'd expected to see her again, but not quite so soon…

Err, what was her name again?

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

Misaka put the events of last time completely out of her mind the moment she saw Tsubasa approach behind Argo.

"Seriously, here I thought I could actually relax a while."

"Yeah, no. Who in the right mind goes to challenge a high-level quest if they're after rest?"

"…You know, I get this strange feeling that you totally would."

"Heh, you're really something." Tsubasa whistled as he praised her half sarcastically.

"So, what are you doing here exactly? I didn't think I'd have to see your face again for a while."

Surprisingly, Misaka had no trouble insulting the boy, unlike she did other people (most of the time). Perhaps it was because of the way he kept calmly insulting her back instead of just getting angry—as most people did.

"That's ironic, I was thinking the same thing. Since I heard that this quest is—"

They both stopped abruptly.

"Huh? You two know each other?" Argo blinked, her head turning between them back and forth.

And then she stiffened when she suddenly found the tips of two different swords both pointed at her throat.

"Oh, I think I get it now," Misaka said in a cool voice.

"I swear, if you die, it's going to be by my hand," Tsubasa said. He'd probably said it to the information broker before more than once. But this time, Misaka disagreed.

"I'd like to correct you on that if you don't mind."

"I'd like to see you try."

"W-Wait! Hang on a sec!" Argo protested, quickly shaking her head. "I didn't even know you guys knew each other! I swear! This is just a coincidence! O-Okay, I get it! I regret it, okay? Tsu-chan! Misa-chin!"

Faced by the murderous stares of these front-line clearers, even the quirky information broker caved into the pressure.

Tsubasa sighed as he flipped his sword over his wrist and sheathed it over his back. "Well, whatever, can't do anything about it now. What was your name again?"

"You can't even remember that much?" Misaka asked skeptically, reluctantly sliding «Amano Maihime» back into its sheath as well.

"Did you ever tell me?"

"No, but I'd assume you could read the cursor."

"Like I care what you're called…"

Misaka's eyebrow twitched slightly. "Misaka. Mi-sa-ka."

"You only have to say it once, you know."

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't sure if it'd register in your brain if I only said it once," Misaka said, and this time she couldn't hold back the heavy sarcasm that leaked through.

Tsubasa blinked once at her and then burst into laughter. "Heh, you're not half bad."

"We don't have time for this," Misaka interrupted as she jabbed at the «Accept» button with her finger to initiate the quest. Tsubasa and Argo all did the same. "Let's go."

As they descended the stairs stretching underground, Tsubasa drew «Black Obsidian» again and held it behind his head casually. "Don't hold me back."

"Mm."

As Misaka had already previously witnessed and felt Tsubasa's strong power, she had nothing more to retort to this.

"H-How about you two—"

"You're coming too, Argo."

"This is all your fault, Rat."

She was shot down immediately, and she sighed, wavering in the back and keeping out of the argument.

The information broker thought to herself, _Crap…I think I did something really bad._

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"Hey, you're both really slow, you know. Why can't you just hurry up?"

—Said the boy watching the two girls fight from a safe distance.

"Tsu-chan is as irritating as ever…" Argo said in annoyance, half to herself and half to Misaka, as she stabbed a monster with one of her «Throwing Picks» while Misaka easily cleared through an entire line using a simple Sword Skill.

"Why don't you come help us if you're so persistent?" Misaka called out.

"Don't want to. I have no interest in helping people. Why, you can't handle it?"

This provocation only served to heighten Misaka's bluntness.

"I can handle it fine, but for some reason I feel like stalling for some time. Besides, won't you skip out on what you call _interesting_?"

"Are you kidding? Low-level monsters like that are far from interesting."

"Is that so. In that case…"

Misaka pulled her _kodachi_ back and stabbed behind her, piercing straight through a monster that had tried to charge her from behind. Then she took a deep breath and lifted it in the air, initiating a Sword Skill that caused the blade to glow bright blue.

It was the simple Sword Skill that Kirito had used to defeat the first boss: «Vertical Arc». Carving a V-shape across a monster's entire body to penetrate it entirely and even split it in three pieces.

However, Misaka used it differently. While the Sword Skill was in action, she dashed through the ranks of the monsters at full speed, pulling her _kodachi_ along her left side to wipe through the entire line of monsters. She pushed off the floor before kicking off of a stalagmite to turn around, curving through the hoard again and pulling her weapon through the other side.

A flash of blue exploded, enunciating the V-shape she had just traveled in, and nearly twenty monsters disappeared at once.

"I-Incredible, Misa-chin…" Argo commented, watching her. And then her eyes widened when she saw a shape approach behind the player who had just finished her attack. "Behind you!"

She threw her «Throwing Pick» with incredible accuracy, and the monster shattered into polygons.

"Eh? Ah, thanks, Argo," Misaka nodded. "So you can fight after all."

"Nyaha!" Argo laughed. "We beta-tested together, did you forget already?"

"Ah, no, I didn't mean that. I meant you're actually willing to fight."

"Am I supposed to take that offensively?"

"No."

 _It's the truth._ This message was left unspoken as Misaka mentally slapped herself, causing Argo to back up slightly.

"…"

"Hey."

Tsubasa walked over nonchalantly despite having done anything to help, and he glanced at Misaka.

"You need to work on your reaction speed."

"…huh?" Misaka blinked, shocked by his words. "What do you mean?"

"Don't 'huh' me. You know what I mean. It's good to be fast and all, but it won't do you any good if you can't react fast enough afterwards. It takes time for it to adjust afterward, right?"

Misaka was briefly surprised—until she realized she had no reason to be surprised anymore. Even then, for him to be able to spot her weak point from that one attack, his battle senses were incredibly terrifying.

"Yeah. But it's fine."

"Misa-chin is always extremely careful, after all," Argo noted.

"Actually, what did _you_ even do?" Misaka asked skeptically.

"Are you serious? I cleared out the other half for you long ago."

"You did? When?"

"A long time ago."

"How long ago was that?"

"Who even cares?"

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

 _They just keep coming,_ Misaka thought to herself as she pulled her sword through another monster and watched the shattering of blue polygons. _There's no end to them!_

"Tired already?" Tsubasa asked her as he swung his sword across horizontally. He didn't even require the use of a Sword Skill; his long blade reached deep into the ranks of attacking monsters and sliced them all in pieces.

"Yeah, right," Misaka said shortly. She drew her sword back and held it with two hands, over her head. It glowed a golden white with the use of a Sword Skill: a rare _kodachi_ Sword Skill Emina had discovered for her during the testing, «Short Rotation», which used the spinning of her short sword through the air like a baton to penetrate more than one place at a time.

Tsubasa smirked slightly, as if not wanting to lose, and gripped his sword with two hands before executing a sharp but simple «Horizontal» Sword Skill that flashed blue through the monsters, taking out several at a time.

Argo, on the other hand, brought her claws down harshly at any monsters that came close to her, preventing any damage and not losing any HP. She looked up suddenly after destroying another monster and swallowed a sudden shout of surprise.

"Tsu-chan, Misa-chin!" She called over her shoulder, hopping backwards to stand back-to-back with the other two front-line fighters. "Here comes the mid-boss!"

"That took too long!" Tsubasa declared as he and Misaka finished off the rest of the low-level hoard.

"It's large," Misaka noted as it stood up.

It was indeed incredibly tall—stretching up to nearly a meter and a half tall—and it was ugly, too, with the face of a bull and a ring in its nose, large horns protruding from the top of its head and touching the ceiling. It had golden eyes that flashed the moment the rest of the monsters were cleared, and it wore some kind of strange loincloth similar to the first boss.

In its hand was a large, double-sided axe.

"How do you want to—"

Argo couldn't even finish her sentence when she felt wind brush past her on either side.

"Isn't that obvious?!"

"We can only attack it straight on."

Tsubasa and Misaka were in perfect succession as they said this, Tsubasa moving straight for the bull-like monster's head and Misaka curving around to attack the back.

"Wait—huh?!" Argo protested, but then she sighed. "Sheesh, guess I don't have a choice!"

Baring her claws, she shot forward as well to join the battle.

Tsubasa narrowly dodged the incoming battle axe as it slammed into the ground, causing the cavern to shake, and Misaka took this distraction to kick off of the cave wall and stab her _kodachi_ directly in the monster's back. It roared and attempted to shake her off, but she had already retracted her weapon and dropped to the ground, making a noise of irritation. "Tch."

As soon as the monster slightly released its hold on the axe to shake her off, Argo saw this chance and pitched forward a couple «Throwing Picks» with perfect aim, each coated in paralysis poison. They struck right on target; however, they had little to no effect on the large bull. To make matters worse, it only tightened its grip again—

—and turned to Misaka.

Misaka blinked once and then narrowed her eyes and charged forward with determination, rolling out of the way of the giant axe that created a large rift in the ground, and stabbing her silver sword straight down into its—was that a hoof?

As Misaka caused the diversion, Argo used her «Hiding Skill» quickly and expertly to move across the cavern unnoticed to where Tsubasa stood.

"Did you figure anything out yet, Tsu-chan?"

"I don't have any intention of answering you."

"Ah….Fine, I'll take that back. What did you figure out?"

Argo retracted the much despised nickname and changed her question simultaneously, noticing how the boy's eyes were glittering with knowledge. She had been around him long enough to be able to tell.

"The attack pattern is random."

"…Huh?" Argo had to blink on that one. Truth be told, she had been expecting an onslaught of information like he usually gave.

"It's not completely random though. I can more or less predict its attack angles, but the person it attacks varies too much."

"True…" Argo mused to herself, recalling the beta testing. "Typically the monster only focuses on what's in front of it."

"And yet it's focusing on what's behind it. Why's that?"

Argo's brown eyes dawned with realization. "I get it. It's trying to defend something!"

"See? Doesn't that only give you one conclusion?"

"…Don't tell me you're trying to say—"

"Right. This isn't a mid-boss at all. It's just the guard. If we take this thing down, the big boss will be right behind it."

 **...And there goes another cliffhanger. That was not intentional, I swear.**

 **There's something I don't like about this chapter. Though I'm not sure what. I just don't like this chapter either. And the action scenes aren't as exciting. I don't know...give me your opinion on it. :( I don't think it was as exciting as it could've been. I'm sorry, I've been in a slight block recently and I also have this huge literature project...Bear with me! The next chapter should be pure action, so I hope to do better at that! :)**

 **Thanks for reading,  
Chikage**

 _A small preview:_

 _Chapter 8: A Quest Boss Challenge_

 _As Argo, Misaka, and Tsubasa defeat the monster guard to approach the quest boss, they find out they're in for more than they bargained for! With a high-level boss to defeat and their scattered teamwork that doesn't exist, how will they approach this fight? Has Misaka managed to find one of Tsubasa's few weak points?!_


	8. Chapter 8: A Quest Boss Challenge

**Sorry for the delay! I beat my small block and finished the chapter! :D Thanks to Da Kaleidoscope (as usual) for pushing me on! But I really wasn't all that satisfied with the battle...**

 ***Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online, only my own characters and the plot. I don't own the cover picture, either.**

 **Chapter 8: A Quest Boss Challenge  
** Though the two spectators came to this conclusion, it seemed like Misaka had it all under control.

She nimbly ducked past the large, swinging axe. Her foot slid backwards to maintain her balance when the backlash of wind threatened to throw her thin frame backwards, but she was able to push herself off the ground and thrust her body forward. She held her _kodachi_ at her side, initiating a bright, lavender Sword Skill.

With fast movements, she used the long pole of the monster's axe to thrust herself upwards, shooting through the air and slamming her sword forward—straight into the monster's forehead.

The monster's HP depleted quickly but then stopped, and she turned to intercept the sudden strike heading for her back—

"Don't worry, Misa-chin! I've got your back!" Argo called out. "You just take it down!"

"All right."

Misaka shifted her attention back to the actual monster itself, dropping onto the ground for a brief moment before pushing off again and hopping horizontally across several tall stalagmites to gain more height, as if she were climbing a spiral staircase. She didn't even pay any mind to the large object that suddenly whirled through the air and knocked the large axe out of the guard monster's hand, completely focused on her task.

She kicked off the pillar-like pole and then pushed towards the ceiling of the cavern, using that as a second dash board to propel herself forward and straight down on the monster's muzzle (would that be the right word?) before it could even spot her movement.

A silver blade flashed down, straight through the monster's mouth.

The monster snarled and leaned backwards, thrusting one of its large hands straight towards Misaka was, but Misaka swung her leg around sharply to pick up momentum and force herself to the side to doge, slipping down towards the ground and raising her _kodachi._

She stabbed forward and dragged «Amano Maihime» straight through in a «Vertical» Sword Skill.

The guard monster's HP depleted fully and it flashed in a shower of blue polygons. She let out a breath, sheathing her sword and shaking her black hair out of her eyes before turning around to look at her other two temporary party members—

—who just so happened to be fighting at the time.

"What do you think you're doing, Rat?"

"What, it's fine, isn't it? I just borrowed it for a while—"

"Just how do you call that _borrowing_?"

"Err, I mean…It saved Misa-chin and all…"

"She can take care of herself."

"Don't be so mean, Tsu-chan—"

"Are you looking for a painful death or something?"

"…Fine, I got it. I won't do it again."

"You said that last time."

"I'm serious!"

Misaka looked off to the side and came to a sudden realization. What Argo had thrown to hold off the monster's axe was Tsubasa's sword, «Black Obsidian». Most likely, she had snagged it while the boy wasn't paying attention.

Although, it had made for the perfect item, given its large prongs protruding into the cavern wall and holding the pole of the axe in place.

"Well, whatever," Tsubasa sighed as he headed over and pulled his sword from the wall, testing its hilt in his hand carefully before simply sheathing it. "Let's go."

"You're welcome," Misaka said sarcastically.

Argo padded over to her, peering her in the face. "Are you all right, Misa-chin?"

"Fine. Why shouldn't I be?"

"Well, you certainly didn't take any damage."

There was a moment of silence as the two girls walked down a long, black corridor, and then Argo spoke again in a hushed whisper.

"Oh, don't mind Tsu-chan. He's actually a really nice guy."

"Oh, really."

"Well, I mean, if he had been really serious about not wanting me to take his sword, then there's no way I could've taken it, right?"

 _True,_ Misaka thought to herself as she looked at the colorful hair walking in front of her. _And naturally, I knew that myself, too._

"Oi, don't go spreading false rumors, you pseudo-information-broker."

"Wha—?!" Argo sputtered, running up. "Who are you calling a pseudo-information-broker?!"

"Who else would it be?" Tsubasa deadpanned.

"How did you two meet?" Misaka asked suddenly, speaking her mind again by accident.

"Huh?" Both turned to her in obvious confusion at the arrival of the sudden question.

"You don't get along at all."

It wasn't a question. It was a blunt statement without any softening to it—a typical Misaka way of phrasing things.

Argo paused and then glanced at Tsubasa again. "Where did we meet?"

"The first floor."

"Obviously," The two girls responded irritably at his straight-forward answer.

"It wasn't that long after the game began."

"On a quest, right?"

"How should I know?"

"Hey, Tsu-chan—" Argo said, annoyed, but she broke off suddenly, thinking. "Oh, I think I remember now. It had something to do with your sword."

"Yeah, it's a one-of-a-kind specially made sword I found in the labyrinth. What about it?"

"Wasn't it that one quest on the lower levels? I think you almost ran into a fight without weapons—"

"Are you serious?" Misaka interrupted flatly. _Although I think I can totally see that happening._

"So what? Humans are easier to read than the system is."

"Uh-huh," Argo said absently.

"Whatever, this doesn't even matter right now," Tsubasa complained, clearly annoyed by the sudden change in topic. "I'm running."

"Hang on a minute, Tsu-chan!" Argo protested, running after him.

Having understood nothing more than she had when she first asked, Misaka shrugged and followed.

They came across an open space—though it wasn't quite a clearing. Instead, there was a short walkway into a circular rock suspended in the center of a deep chasm, like a floating island amidst the abyss. Surrounding it was nothing but black darkness. Who knew where it ended—or if it ended at all.

Standing in the middle of it was a monster resembling the Minotaur from Greek myths—bare chested with a human-ish (hint the 'ish') face covered in hair, and two large bull horns from its head. Furry blue bull legs balanced on the rock, and it held in its hand another oversized weapon: this time a club with several sharp spikes poking out on all edges.

Argo was alarmed by the crude cudgel. "That's not a bladed weapon."

"Technically it could be," Tsubasa replied. "Eh, don't fret the small details."

"Last I checked, that's a pretty big detail, you know," Misaka corrected. She looked up and peered at the cursor— "This thing is a Sergeant rank?" She asked, surprised. "That's pretty high."

"All right, time to get fighting!" Tsubasa declared, slamming his fist into the palm of his hand. He made no move to draw his sword from behind his back, however.

At that moment, the Sergeant-level Minotaur-monster seemed to jolt to life, its eyes flashing an ominous gold. The club flew into the air as it was lifted, and a loud roar echoed in the chamber.

"What are you doing, Tsu-chan?" Argo demanded, raising her claws and backing up slightly at the quest boss's sudden loud noise. "Hurry up and draw your sword—"

"What are you talking about?"

"…Huh?"

Both girls stiffened in surprise when a sudden force pushed them forward and straight onto the walkway.

"You're stalling it for me."

It was surprisingly typical of him to make the girls fight in his stead.

Argo and Misaka both looked like they wanted to get angry, but there was no time for that. The chamber was shaking already from the stomping of the large bull monster, though the walkway remained steady. Misaka bit her lip and turned to look at the information broker, who nodded.

"Fine, but just this once, Tsu-chan!" Argo declared as she charged forward.

"Call it a favor," Misaka muttered as she leaned forward slightly and pushed off her back foot.

Behind them, Tsubasa laughed to himself.

 _He's not a bad person, Tsu-chan,_ Argo thought to herself as she dodged the wicked-looking cudgel and scrambled back to her feet, tossing a poison-embedded throwing pick up towards the monster's head, but the effect of the wind from its turning its large body threw it off course. She clicked her tongue irritably and moved in from the ground instead.

 _I know he wants to try to narrow it down to a decisive strike—probably because a drawn-out fight is 'too boring'. Not to mention he wouldn't send us out here if we weren't capable of handling ourselves._

Her blue eyes flicked off to the side, watching Misaka thrust her _kodachi_ forward and straight into the monster's blind spot, as it had been too focused on Argo to notice her. It roared and stabbed the large club towards her, but Misaka nimbly flipped out of the way, which allowed Argo to step in and make a painful slash through the bull's leg.

 _But still—_

Annoyed, Argo let out a small hiss to herself before plunging her other set of claws in as well.

 _Why can't he say that out loud then?!_

Tearing through in a flash of red light effects, the information broker turned her head upwards to watch one of the two bars of HP deplete about 40%.

"Argo! Look out!"

Misaka's shout snapped her attention back to the battle, and she reflexively ducked to the left to avoid being pummeled to death.

"Thanks, Misa-chin!"

Argo barrel rolled to her feet and activated a Sword Skill on her right hand, piercing forward with a golden light. The large spiked cudgel came forward to block her movement, and she gave a small battle cry as she pushed forward with all her strength.

"Misa-chin!"

"Got it!"

Misaka dropped from the sky (when did she get up there?) and came down with her blade first, aiming to deal another strong «Vertical» strike, but Argo winced and slid backwards when the monster forced the club from her hold and spun around powerfully to plow through both of their attacks, sending them both flying backwards at the same time.

Argo's heels slid across the ground and she placed her hand down to brace herself, glancing hesitantly at the open abyss behind her. Misaka was sent flying through the air, but she turned a flip midair and grabbed the edge of the stranded island to flip herself back up. Her blue eyes narrowed. _That was close…_

Tsubasa watched them fight from a safe distance, his eyes narrowing bitterly as he put his hand to his head in frustration. "This isn't going to work…"

"Tsu-chan, nothing yet?!" Argo called over her shoulder, zipping in the opposite direction to avoid another blow that broke open the ground.

"I can count on one hand how many blows you guys have landed," Tsubasa responded, irritated.

"It feels like you're just taking it easy…" Misaka muttered. Though this time, it was a statement of pure sarcasm: the girl was speaking from her mind and not her intuition.

"Yeah, think whatever you want."

"Tch."

Misaka kicked off the ground in a force start, charging in fearlessly. She dodged to the side to avoid a strong swing coming in from the left, knowing she couldn't stop it with her strength. After moving out of the way of two or three more swings, she grabbed one of the large spikes at its base and very carefully swung herself upwards, kicking off the base of the club to change direction and avoid a blow towards Argo, who moved out of the way easily, looking for an opening.

Misaka raised her _kodachi_ and initiated a Sword Skill, swinging straight down towards the undefended arm—

 _Clang!_

She winced as her sword was held in a deadlock with the giant club, slowly forcing her backwards. She placed her feet on the large weapon to brace herself, but it was futile.

 _It has a strong defense._

Scrutinizing the battle crucially, Tsubasa instinctively reached for his sword hilt. But right then, Argo pounced forward and slashed through the undefended back of the monster's head, which released the one-sided clash. Tsubasa's grip on his sword didn't loosen.

 _It has trouble transitioning, then…that would explain the forceful 360 earlier. Normally, boss monsters don't fight with that kind of style. But seriously, twenty from the left, ten from the right, and sixty percent of all its attacks from above? This really is a gaming system._

He clicked his tongue irritably.

 _Overlay all that…tch, too many results. Well, whatever._ His mind automatically picked and selected through certain attack layouts the system could possibly give—easily over a thousand or two. _Now I just need one more factor…_

Misaka wasn't counting on the boy to save the day or anything, but Argo seemed to be. Though it wasn't a surprise, since the information broker originally wasn't much of a fighter to begin with. It was still a mystery to her how the two polar opposites met, but it didn't matter.

She knew what it was that he needed.

"Argo!" She called, flipping her feet upwards to gain more height. Her «Vertical» skill was still in its Cooling period, so she couldn't use it yet, but there were several other skills she could execute. Not that she _needed_ to use one in the first place.

Argo understood immediately, nodding and charging in. "I got it, Misa-chin!"

Argo avoided a downstroke from the oversized club and pushed forward, her eyes narrowed in determination. Her claws glowed and she pierced forward in a strong attack, using the Sword Skill «Acute Vault». The momentum built up from her charge helped to stimulate it, and the blue attack pierced through the monster's bottom hoof.

At the same time, Misaka twisted out of the way of the upswing following the downstroke, her _kodachi_ piercing through the monster's forehead in a simple «Thrust».

One of the Minotaur-monster's health bars was depleted fully.

The quest boss let out a loud roar, suddenly grabbing the club with both hands and spinning around in a whirlwind. Misaka was blown from the sky, and she slid across the ground, barely stopping before the edge of the pit. Argo also hopped backwards, out of the way of the sharp winds.

The large club was pounded into several areas heavily, also wrapped in a similar hurricane.

It produced a glowing green light.

Tsubasa suddenly laughed.

Misaka and Argo both turned to him in confusion as he drew his sword and made his way across the thin walkway stretching over the large chasm. His violet eyes glittered knowingly.

 _The Sword Skill for a two-handed axe, «Whirlwind»...That's so typical._

"Did you figure something out, Tsu-chan?" Argo asked.

"More or less."

"What did you figure out?" Misaka inquired, rewording the question.

"First strike from above, left, down, up, across, Sword Skill, a V-shape, spin, Sword Skill, right, pinch strike a 360, and then possibly another Sword Skill."

"Wait, what?" Misaka protested. He had listed off the directions so fast she couldn't even hear past the third one—it was like trying to understand a videotape on rewind.

"Whatever, just stay out of my way!" Tsubasa called as he charged in.

 **Meh, I guess it's passable. Tell me what you think!**

 **Oh, there's a few things I'm going to mention...**

 **The summary needs to be changed. I've decided, through the layout plans of my story, that I'll be focusing only on Tsubasa and Misaka, so the other characters I mentioned will still be introduced, but they're pretty much side characters now. I'll get to that soon.**

 **I'm not putting the preview anymore. My chapter lengths vary too much and I can't guarantee where it stops.**

 **And should I change the first chapter? It seems like it's not appealing at all, since I've got over 100 views on that first chapter but less than 20 on my most recent chapter. Shrugs. Thanks for reading, the 20 of you who still are! *bows**

 **Hope you enjoyed anyway!**

 **~Chikage**

 **PS For those who think Tsubasa is too OP, I go into weaknesses next chapter and even more in the next battle :)**


	9. Chapter 9: Secrets and Weaknesses

**A/N: Sorry for the delay! A warning before we start. I hate myself for writing this, I hate myself for posting this, and I hate this chapter completely, but I have a really big block and don't want to dwell on it for too long. So excuse my sucky chapter after so long, and I hope to just progress with the story. Thanks!  
~Chikage**

 ***Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, only the plot and my own characters. The cover picture is not mine either.**

 **Chapter 9: Secrets and** **Weaknesses  
** Metal blades clashing with clanging noises and flashes of colors moved throughout the ring, and Misaka found herself gripping her sword tightly out of reflex.

 _Fast…well, I guess you would be if you knew what was coming next._

And then, suddenly, she saw the club coming in from a blind spot in the back.

Without thinking, she instinctively kicked off the floor and rushed forward, drawing her sword. "Look out!"

"Misa-chin, don't!" Argo yelled after her, but it was too late.

As Misaka leaped in the air to defend the monster's strike, Tsubasa turned at the same time, his purple eyes looking as if they didn't see her at all, and swung his sword across at full speed.

It was a feeling she couldn't identify—as she felt a golden white light pierce straight through her body.

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

She thought for sure that she had died. But she opened her eyes not minutes later and found the Argo staring down at her with anxious eyes, and Tsubasa in the back with his sword held casually over his shoulder.

"Wha—" She tried to move but found she couldn't, so she looked up and saw a paralysis symbol next to her cursor and frowned.

"Misa-chin!" Argo exclaimed in relief, pouncing her. "That was so reckless!"

"What happened?" Misaka turned her head. "The monster?"

"Tsu-chan defeated it," Argo replied, looking over her shoulder at the boy. Their gazes never met, and she turned her attention back to Misaka.

"You're lucky I saw you in time to switch to a paralysis Sword Skill," Tsubasa said without looking at her. "I was about to kill you, you know."

Misaka didn't care about that, evidently. As long as she was alive, it was fine. "There's no such thing as a paralysis Sword Skill."

"Yeah, there is. It's in a quest on the first floor available to everyone."

At Misaka's confused look, Argo added, "Only about six people have passed it though. It's a skill called «Illusionary Impact» that deals paralysis to players. He's used it on me too." She looked slightly embarrassed as she said that.

"Yeah, 'cause both of you are jumping into my line of fire," Tsubasa commented, sounding annoyed.

Misaka decided to choose this time to ask. "So if you're not a beta tester, then how do you do it? There's no way a normal person can calculate something like that so accurately."

Tsubasa sighed, sitting down on the ground and sheathing his sword like it was going to be a long story. "First off, what's normal?"

"True," Misaka agreed without answering the question. She found that she was able to sit now, so she did.

"Well, I've been doing it since I was little. My old man was a professional fighter, and I've been watching fighting since I was little."

"That doesn't—"

"Shut up and listen."

Misaka's eyebrow ticked a little at his rudeness, but she stayed quiet.

"Anyway, he's been teaching me since I was little to try to read others' movements. And as you know, the younger the child, the easier it is to imprint something in their minds. So I've been doing that with people for a long time. And like he kept telling me, if you want to be able to read it better, then get to know your opponent."

It almost seemed like he was talking to himself, as he never once looked at her. But Misaka was listening closely, frowning. She still didn't get it.

"But every monster here is different. How does that—"

"This is a virtual reality. It's not the monsters— _it's the gaming system._ "

Realization dawned on Misaka. "Oh. You mean—"

Argo nodded. "I watched Tsu-chan."

"That's creepy."

"Shut up! Anyway, for the first two months, all he did was quests on the first floor without any analyzation. Just pure instinct fighting."

"There's no other way to do it," Tsubasa deadpanned. "But like everything, there's two weak points I have with that."

"Weak points?" Misaka asked curiously.

Tsubasa shrugged, standing and stretching. "You just saw one."

Avoiding the question, he left the room. Misaka looked to Argo next, and the information broker stiffened before sighing.

"All right, I'll make an exception…Tsu-chan's first weak point is that he can only focus on the battle in front of him. He can't watch his surroundings. So if you just suddenly jump in like that, he won't notice until you're directly in front of him. It's already hard enough for him to think about so much at a time, after all.

"«Illusionary Impact»—That's the Sword Skill that Tsu-chan forced himself to learn in order to try to overcome that weakness of his."

"That does make sense," Misaka agreed thoughtfully. "Then the second?"

"I can't say."

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"Oh."

Argo was annoyed as well, since she had been trying to find out for a long time now. Misaka finally changed the subject, asking instead, "So how'd the rest of the battle go?"

"Hm?" Argo blinked, the whiskers painted on her cheeks moving slightly. "Oh, that…"

…

…

…

…

"Misa-chin!" Argo cried, catching the girl as she fell. "Misa-chin, are you all right?"

"Hey, Rat!" Tsubasa yelled as he locked one of the spikes into a prong on his sword and forced it aside with a twist of his wrist. "Don't just sit there—there's a job for you!"

"Huh?!" Argo protested even as she stood and readied her weapons. She quickly put on a serious expression, though. "All right. What do you need me to do?"

"Look for an opening that won't distract me."

She narrowed her eyes. "…Right."

Argo's eyes scrutinized the battle in close detail. Tsubasa spun around again and clashed with the glowing green Sword Skill that pierced through the air, metal clanging. As the swords were engaged in a heavy deadlock (Argo had to admire his strength stats), Tsubasa suddenly flipped around over the two weapons and slammed his foot down with a golden flash.

 _«Crescent Moon»…_ Argo sweatdropped slightly. _That Tsu-chan's already putting those Martial Arts Skills to use, huh?_

The kick contacted at the base of the left horn, and the monster bent backwards at the sudden surprise attack. Argo saw her chance and immediately charged forward, pushing off the floor as hard as she could and straight up into the air. She initiated the Sword Skill «Acute Vault» once again, her claws glowing blue as she reached up as high as she could.

 _Reach it…!_

Luckily, Tsubasa's battle senses were as heightened as usual, and he stabbed his sword downwards and straight into the Minotaur's body.

Argo felt her claws pierce through the monster, and the Sword Skill was executed perfectly, stealing nearly half of the HP. This allowed Tsubasa to build up time for a follow-up Sword Skill and pierce the entire monster in half with «Vorpal Strike»…

…

…

…

…

"And that's what happened," Argo finished.

"I see."

Misaka stood up, clenching her hand in a fist and watching the paralysis symbol disappear.

As she headed towards the door to find Tsubasa, Argo added suddenly, "Also, I'll confirm it for you. Tsu-chan isn't a beta tester."

"Yeah, I know that."

"But I can't say anything more than that," Argo looked at the floor guiltily. "It's against my policy to give out information about other players."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Argo."

Somewhere in her heart, Misaka knew that she had grown a respect for the boy seeking to grow stronger.

Though she'd never admit it or anything.

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"Hey."

She found him sitting not far outside and pulled in her skirt to sit next to him, staring forward at the beautiful scenery.

"What do you want now?"

The breeze brushed his colorful hair out of his eyes, and his gaze remained on the setting sun.

"Well sorry for wanting something every time."

"Don't you?"

"Yeah."

Tsubasa finally turned to look at her, skeptical. Then he laughed. "You're really blunt, aren't you?"

"Just noticed?"

"Why should I have cared?"

"True."

They stayed quiet for a little while longer, and then Misaka directly spoke her mind once again.

"So about your ability—"

"It's really not an ability. It's just a habit now."

"It's impressive, either way."

"Whatever."

Misaka felt her ponytail lift in the wind as she stayed quiet in the sun dying the sky a crimson red.

If he didn't want to talk about it, she knew better than anyone to push it.

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"That was pretty fun though, don't you think?" Argo shot a toothy grin towards Misaka.

"Don't remind me. This was all your fault in the first place," Misaka criticized, and the information broker sweatdropped.

"Well, it turned out fine, right?" Argo said sheepishly.

"That's true," Misaka mused. "We should aim for the boss fight next."

"That's a good idea!" Argo agreed. "All right, I'll dig up some blackmail information on Tsu-chan—"

"Oi, I can hear you, you know," Tsubasa deadpanned.

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **I'm just going to go cry in a corner now and die of embarrassment.**

 **akwejpoifjasd;kfp2ioeuar[ojdafoasjkdfoiwepirj**

 **I'm running out of ideas for battles.**

 **~Chikage**


	10. Chapter 10: What is Known

**Okay, rest assured, my fellow readers! Chikage is (already) back with an acceptable chapter! I'm sorry for earlier~ I hope you enjoy! (Yes, I'm loopy right now :)**

 **NOTICE: I have an important author's note at the end of the chapter! (It's long, but please read!)**

 **~Chikage**

 _*Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online, only my own characters and the plot. The cover picture is not mine either._

 **Chapter 10: What is Known  
**

Normally, for Misaka, it wasn't a hobby of hers to eavesdrop. But this time, it simply couldn't be helped.

(If you were to ask _who_ she was eavesdropping on, the proper question would be who _else_?)

But even then, standing at the door of the inn room Argo was staying at, she could only pick up bits and pieces of the conversation, even with her advanced «Hearing Skill».

"You really have a hobby of waking people up in the morning for no good reason, huh?"

Of course, the one who said that in a lazy, yawning tone could only be Tsubasa.

"Whatever. I…"

Misaka pursed her lips in annoyance and leaned into the door when she missed Argo's next line.

"…the next boss!"

"Don't try to sugarcoat things…"

Misaka frowned as she missed the next half of the sentence.

"…oh, and don't try bribing or blackmailing, cause it won't work."

"You already know there's no way I'd have information like that," Argo huffed. "But, you know…I might have something even better…"

"Whatever, this is a waste of my time. I'm going out—"

"Wait, Tsu-chan!" Argo landed with a thud as she quickly ran forward.

 _Huh? What was that?_ Misaka hesitated when the information whispered something she couldn't catch. _I can't hear—_

"How did you know that?" Tsubasa's voice was suddenly wary.

Argo smirked. "Fufu…You know I can't tell you that."

"I'm going to kill you."

"Still can't tell ya nya," Argo chirped.

Another moment of silence went by, and Misaka sighed before reaching forward and knocking on the door. "I'm coming in."

She pulled it open before either of them could respond. Argo was sitting at the windowsill her brown hair painstakingly tamed and covered with the hood of her usual black cloak that was topped over her thin but protective clothing, red whiskers already painted on her cheeks. Tsubasa sat on the couch in the room against the wall, dressed in his casual, modern-style clothing despite being awoken on such a short notice—but then again, it didn't take long at all to dress in a virtual world.

The two were nowhere near each other. That explained why Misaka was hearing voices from two different areas.

"So you finally decided to come in, Misa-chin," Argo said jokingly, stepping away and shutting the window.

"Yeah, I got bored of listening to you guys flirt," Misaka deadpanned sarcastically.

"Don't be like that!" Argo chirped. "I finally got Tsu-chan to join the second boss raid! Aren't you happy?"

"Who's happy?" Misaka asked.

Tsubasa asked simultaneously, "Who's joining?"

Argo ignored Misaka and turned to Tsubasa. "Hey, you just got information for free, you know— _again_."

Tsubasa snorted and looked away. "As if you'd ever give away information for free, you business-obsessed pseudo-information broker."

"Oi, Tsu-chan, that's rude!"

"It's true though."

"Not you too, Misa-chin!" Argo sighed and shook her head. "Anyway, I have only limited information on the second floor boss that I found. I don't mind giving it out or anything, but that'll cost—"

"See, what did I tell you," Misaka said skeptically.

"This and that are completely different!" Argo insisted defiantly.

"How so?"

"Argh…" Argo grumbled. "Misa-chin, have you ever heard that sometimes too much honesty isn't good?"

"The truth hurts, huh?" Misaka replied unhesitatingly.

Argo sighed and leaned against the window. "I give up…"

Misaka felt a small victory earned for herself. She had known Argo for some time now, and she didn't feel any hard feelings at all for insulting the information broker. Or rather, it was a great way to pass time.

"That's the last time I give out information for free—even for you guys," Argo complained. "Anyway, boss information doesn't come cheap."

"Ah, yeah, you can just run your mouth," Tsubasa stood up and moved towards the door absently, focused on his pop-up menu displayed in front of him. "I don't want to hear it anyway. I have to go send a message to someone, so see ya."

With that carefree back-wave, the door shut, and Misaka sweatdropped. "He sure moves at his own pace as well."

"No kidding," Argo sighed, even as she thought _Why is he going outside to send a_ message? "So, Misa-chin, if you want the information—"

Misaka thought, and then smiled. "No thanks."

"…Eh?" Argo blinked, surprised. Misaka had once been her number one customer, after all.

"I don't think I need it." Misaka turned and headed for the door to find some breakfast.

The door shut, and Argo sighed to herself as she shrugged, as if to say 'what can I do?'

Then the door opened and closed again as Tsubasa re-entered the room and plopped down on the couch, sighing. "I hate talking to people…"

"That was fast," Argo noted. "You already finished with that message?"

"Yeah, they should be here soon." Tsubasa sounded bored as he said this.

"Who?" Argo was confused.

But at that minute, Misaka kicked open the door forcefully with her high-heel, clicking against the floor as she walked inside, and dumped an armful of food on the table. "I brought breakfast."

"That was even faster!" Argo exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Misaka gave her a confused look as she dusted her hands off. "It was only about a 150 meter distance. I can clear that in about twenty seconds with my speed. But I had trouble picking out what to eat."

"Well, that's true," Argo remarked. "Misaka is like Aa-chan, then…with the speed specialty."

"Itadakimasu~*" Misaka picked up a wrapped sandwich and took a neat bite, looking up at Argo as she ate. "So who's nickname is Aa-chan?"

"Asuna-chan's," Argo explained.

Misaka nodded her head thoughtfully as she remembered Asuna's fighting style. "Well, you're right, I guess…"

She took another bite of her sandwich.

"Then I'll take one too—"

Just as Argo reached for a different sandwich on the table, the door was suddenly slammed open and two other players stood behind it.

"Is there an information broker named Argo here?"

"E-Eh?!" Argo stiffened in surprise.

Misaka glanced down from the sandwich in her hands to her _kodachi_ sheathed at her waist and back to her sandwich before shrugging and taking another bite.

The two players at the doorway were both heavily wrapped in black cloth, dressed like ninjas. No—they were the perfect embodiment of ninjas (which was really weird). Silver daggers hung at their waists, and their eyes scanned the room critically.

Tsubasa smiled slightly as he raised his hand to point towards Argo.

"Tsu-chan?" Argo was alarmed—

"So you're Argo!"

The ninjas ran forward to grab her hands.

"Hey—wait, what?" Argo was completely confused by now.

"Please tell us the location of the «Martial Arts Quest»!" They said in chorus. "We'll pay you anything!"

"Wait a minute, I already said I wasn't going to tell anyone where that was!" Argo cut them off.

"Please! I beg of you!"

Unable to turn her frustration on them, Argo turned to Tsubasa instead. "Tsu-chan! I thought you said you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"I didn't," Tsubasa pointed out with a smirk. "I just told them to find you if they want to know."

"Wha—?!" Argo protested.

"You wanted money, right?" He asked simply.

Argo was quiet, unsure of how to respond as her mouth opened and closed several times. Finally, she shouted, "Ahhh, whatever! I won't forget this, Tsu-chan! I'll definitely get you back for this!"

Her blue eyes turned a murderous gaze towards him before she yanked her hands away and pushed open the window, initiating her high-level «Hiding Skill» and leaping outside.

"Wait, Argo-san!" The two ninjas immediately followed her, leaping from the windowsill swiftly.

Misaka bit into her sandwich as her gaze traveled towards the other player lying on the larger couch, who had burst into laughter the moment they left. Finally, he recovered and asked Misaka, "You weren't going to help her?"

Misaka swallowed lightly. "I was eating."

"I guess that's true."

"Plus, I don't think I need to," Misaka shrugged as she removed some more of the wrapping around the sandwich. "It's not like Argo can't handle herself, and besides, a little scare once in a while won't hurt anyone."

"Hm…" Tsubasa's dark purple eyes looked amused as he looked at her.

Finally, he climbed to his feet with a lazy yawn. "Whatever, let's get a move on."

Misaka looked up from her sandwich. "You're really coming to the boss battle?"

"I've got nothing better to do, right?" Tsubasa shrugged as he grabbed his sword from where it was leaning against the wall. "But it better be worth my time."

Misaka swallowed the rest of her sandwich as she answered, "There's no way I could guarantee that."

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"Never thought I'd be back here…"

"What, you never go to town or anything to buy stuff?" Misaka asked skeptically as she picked through a selection of healing potions.

"No. I've never bothered before. I had Argo go run my errands all the time."

"What's with that…I can't believe she actually agreed."

"Like she would. I bet she took a few things every time, but I really don't care about that."

"Huh. Anyway, wait a minute." Misaka redirected the conversation to the store owner. "Do you have any teleport crystals?"

"Teleport crystals? Of course I do!" The merchant laughed. "How much do you have on you, li'l miss?"

"I—oh," Misaka frowned as she opened her information tab. "I'm out of money." She looked up expectantly at Tsubasa. "How much do you have."

Tsubasa shrugged. "Only about 50,000 Col left."

"That's more than enough."

Ignoring the outrageous amount following the understated 'only,' she turned back to the merchant.

"Then I'll take six."

"Hey. Don't just use other people's money without permission."

"You just said you don't care, right?" Misaka replied.

"I don't."

"Then why does it matter?"

"I'm bored," Tsubasa said suddenly as he absently transferred the money to her. "Let's go do something else."

"Like what? We only have about half an hour until the meeting."

"That's enough for three quests."

"Don't kid around," Misaka thanked the merchant and scrolled through her inventory again. "Anyway, if we're not well-prepared enough, then waltzing into that boss battle will just be suicide."

"Hmm…wouldn't that be kind of interesting?"

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"I-I-It's you! What are you doing here?"

Unfortunately, they ran into a familiar face right away.

Misaka muttered, "It's the cactus-head."

In other words—Kibaou.

But even though she was stating her honest opinion of mind, she immediately kicked herself (mentally).

Kibaou heard her. "What did you just call me?!"

"A cactus-head," Misaka answered matter-of-factly. "Because you are one."

 _I think I really need to shut up now._

"You beta testers shouldn't be here!" Kibaou yelled, changing the subject once he was unable to refute her words.

"Why not? You guys are on a suicide mission?" Tsubasa snorted. "Yeah, sure, have the time of your lives. I'm not saying anything about her, but—"

He dodged to the left suddenly when Misaka punched forward with her _kodachi_ in hand.

She blinked and then stepped back quickly, sheathing her _kodachi_. "Oh, sorry, I acted on instinct."

Her blue eyes released a strong bloodlust, threatening, _Say anything else and I'll kill you._

"Don't just try to stab someone like that."

"Like it even matters with you."

"Tch," Tsubasa looked at the ground in irritation. "I'm bored, so—"

He stopped abruptly.

"You aren't going to leave?" Misaka asked curiously.

Tsubasa's purple eyes narrowed and he scowled. "I'm going to kill that damn Rat."

The girl sweatdropped. _…Argo…exactly what did you tell him?_

 ***Itadakimasu = Let's eat; commonly used before meals to give thanks/show respect for those who made it (A/N: I dunno if that's totally accurate, since I'm not Japanese)**

 **Wow something about short chapters and me recently-but anyway.** **A lot of things to say (this** **will be a super long A/N)...PLEASE READ!**

 **First off, I couldn't remember for the sake of it if Argo was being chased by ninjas or dogs. Don't ask. I just put ninjas because that was what came to my mind first, strangely, and let's face it-how do I incorporate dogs into that like I did ninjas? So yeah, ninjas. DON'T ASK.**

 **But that aside, for those who don't know (cuz idk if this was in the anime or not but I don't think it was), Kirito was the one who rescued Argo from the ninjas (YES they're ninjas now) and from there on out was where Argo led him to the «Martial Arts Quest». So I thought that would be cool. Just a little fun fact for those who don't know. :)**

 **Now, based off of that, the future plot line will be changing in the following ways:**

 **Because all this happened early, the boss raid has moved forward in the SAO timeline. Maybe just by a few days, but it's moved forward.**

 **Therefore, Kirito will not be in the boss battle. (And that means Asuna too.) I know they were, but it's kinda hard for me to spotlight my own characters when there is a legitimate protagonist already there. Just saying. So that's changing.**

 **Umm, so that also means the whole fiasco with the Legendary Heroes guild or whatnot (some of you know what I'm talking about)? That's not happening either. I simply don't want to have to make space for it. (I'll let you know if I get some inspiration and that changes).**

 **...and that's all for now, I think. I'll say if I remember anything else. I just don't change the plotline very much in my fanfictions, so I will alert you readers ahead of time if I decide to change something in the plot. I try not to make major changes though.**

 **Thanks for reading (my super long author's note-oh, and the chapter itself, of course)  
~Chikage**

 **PS Please do take the time to drop in a review and tell me what you thought! Special thanks to Da Kaleidoscope for constant reviews and cheering me up last chapter! (And saving me from tactical missiles, apparently).**


	11. Chapter 11: The Two Bulls

**A/N: Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for the delay! I really didn't want it to stretch out this long...but I didn't have any ideas and started an SYOC and then couldn't come up with anything for my SYOC and came back to this...so I hope to update a bit on here! (It's not important. I didn't really expect you to understand that if you didn't :). Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter, to those of you who were still waiting! :D The battle does start at the end, and I got super hyped~**  
 **~Chikage**

 ***Disclaimer: All written before...don't really want to write it again...but also, some of the descriptions that I used for bosses are from Wikia. Just tweaked some. Thanks!**

 **Chapter 11: The Two Bulls**

Misaka stepped back and pulled «Amano Maihime» back with her, adjusting her stance briefly before taking off in a blur of speed, brushing through a hoard of monsters coming towards her. She briefly glanced over her shoulder, moving her ponytail out of the way when it rose upwards.

"Don't you dare get in my way, okay?" She said bluntly to the boy behind her in a certain form of sarcasm.

"That's what I should be saying to you!" Tsubasa declared, swinging his sword straight down and clearing out another nearby group of monsters. He extended his swing smartly by pushing off the pillar behind him at an angle.

She smiled to herself. _Shouldn't have bothered._

"Oi, wait a second!"

Behind them, Kibaou gave a loud, sudden bark, and they both turned to face them with an innocent 'what do you want?' expression.

"This quest is supposed to be for the party to level up, not for you two to show off!" The party leader insisted.

"So what?" Misaka tipped her head.

"What do you mean, 'so what'?" Kibaou pointed at her accusingly. "What do you think you're doing, going and clearing the quest so easily?"

"Why not?" Tsubasa shrugged. "It's an easy quest."

"And we're part of the party too," Misaka agreed.

"But if you two do all the work, then this quest has no meaning to it!" Kibaou yelled.

Misaka thought this over. "That's true, actually."

"And what do you mean by 'actually…'?"

"I mean, I'm surprised you actually said something sensible for once."

"You—!"

 _I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?_ Misaka thought irritably to herself as her murderous aura increased.

"Anyway, you two don't need to be here, so hurry up and scram!"

"Tch, whatever."

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"Misaka…right?"

Misaka turned her head at a familiar voice, and then paused.

"Oh! Uhh, sorry, I forgot your name."

The familiar ax-wielding player chuckled. "You haven't changed I see. It's Agil."

"It's nice to see you again, Agil-san," Misaka greeted as she shook his hand. Since Tsubasa seemed to look annoyed with her, she reluctantly motioned for him to go first. "Shouldn't you be in the quest right now?"

"Nah, it's fine, I don't need it."

"That's true, I don't even know who does," Misaka sighed with a shrug, turning and heading towards a small refreshment stand nearby. Her heels clicked against the stone floor. "Well, should we get something to eat while we're here?"

"Sure, that sounds good."

"Okay, I'll pay—" She stopped. "Actually I just remembered that I have no money."

Agil laughed. "Don't worry about it, I'll buy you something."

"Thanks."

After the two had settled down on a nearby bench, Misaka took a sip of the cold drink in her hand and sighed. "So, Agil-san, what are you doing here? I didn't think I'd find you back here after…" She paused, thinking. "Oh, wait, of course you would. Never mind. Is Kirito coming?"

"Kirito?" Agil blinked. "Not sure…I haven't been in contact with him since the last raid."

Misaka shrugged. "Can't be helped, then. To be honest, though, neither have I."

"Have you heard the information for this boss raid yet?" Agil asked her.

"I don't know if I want to…" Misaka sighed. "So not yet. But then, I already know quite a bit from beta testing anyway, so…"

"Oh?" Agil smiled slightly.

 _I mean, a certain battle-maniac would just tell me off again if I did something stupid, and I don't want that,_ She thought to herself. She would have said it out loud, had she not been too busy blowing bubbles into her drink as she thought.

It occurred to her right then that she probably should've been keeping an eye on that aforementioned battle-maniac.

Misaka stood up and tossed her empty drink into the trash can. "I should go find Tsubasa. I'll see you at the battle, Agil-san."

"Yeah!"

She headed off.

 **SAO: Phantom Blade**

"Are we all set?"

The one speaking to the raid party as a whole was a player named Lind, who had won the right as leader from a coin toss. He looked somewhat like Diavel, and he spoke with authority.

The raid group had been split again into separate parties of around 4 or 5, and since no one else wanted to party with them, Misaka was left with Tsubasa (but she had expected that). The raid boss alone seemed to be friends with Kibaou and, unsurprisingly, hated them with a baseless passion, so they had been left on a damage-dealing party for the sub-boss, which Agil was in charge of.

"Let's win!"

"Yeah!"

With a battle cry, the doors were swung open. Immediately, two large boss rose to its feet at the center of a circular room. Both were also similar bull-based monsters, one being half the size of the other. The smaller bull had a total of three HP bars, and the other a total of five.

The first, presumably the sub-boss and the monster the two had been tasked to help defeat, was «Nato the Colonel Taurus». It had blue skin and shining black horns. Its large hooves made the ground tremble every time it moved, and its bare upper body had a large two-handed hammer held in front of it. Misaka could already tell that one hit from that thing would hurt like hell, if not kill her.

The second was twice its height—five meters tall—and was titled «Baran the General Taurus». It was a dazzling _bull_ (if the word bull didn't put you off), with shining colors of crimson and gold. It had buff muscles covered in a coat of crimson and a golden cloth around its waist but a similar bare upper body, save a golden chain running on the shoulder. It held a similar golden battle hammer the same gigantic size.

Misaka lightly tapped her foot against the ground to charge forward in a burst of speed. "I'll go left, you go right. We don't have to work together or anything."

"Duh," Tsubasa agreed, and leaped over the rest of raid party to reach the other side and attack from a different angle. "Let's just get this over with!"

"Agil-san! We're going in!" She called as she breezed by.

"Right! We'll cover!"

Misaka swung «Amano Maihime» in a diagonal upwards slash before bringing it straight back down in another sharp vertical slash. She disliked stabbing because she was always afraid her short blade would get stuck as the monster vanished. Her ponytails swished against her shoulder as she gently let gravity take over so that she could tumble on the floor before leaning forward to go in again—

Her eyes stopped on its cursor suddenly.

«Baran the General Taurus»…and «Nato the Colonel Taurus»? _Wait a sec…something's not right about that. Why wouldn't it be? It just feels…wrong—_

She didn't allow herself to think about it too much and went with her gut feeling, taking off in a blur across the room to reach Tsubasa. She grabbed his hand.

"Tsubasa! Run!"

"What?"

"Sorry, Agil-san! Cover for me for a bit!"

Despite Tsubasa's annoyed expression, she clamped her hand around his arm firmly and redirected to behind a pillar, a ways from where the battle was taking place.

"Hey, what are you—"

"I'm not entirely sure," Misaka answered vaguely, peering out from behind the pillar cautiously. "But something bugs me about those names. I don't know what it is—"

"What about it—" Tsubasa broke off suddenly. "General and Colonel?"

"What—"

"You were a beta tester, right?"

"Right."

"Then which one was it in the testing?"

Misaka thought and then pointed towards «Baran the General Taurus». "That one."

"Was it titled 'General'?" Tsubasa asked slowly.

"I don't remember, but why—" Misaka came to the conclusion by herself. "The first floor boss…wasn't it a Lord?"

"Right. General is lower than a Lord. Experience from other VRMMORPGs can tell me that much," Tsubasa nodded.

"So that means…they're both sub-bosses?" Misaka summed up.

"Pretty much. Is that all? Then we'd better get started—"

"No! Wait!" Misaka grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him back down when he moved to leave. "It hasn't gone away. That bad feeling. But this one's coming from that one…" She pointed at «Nato the Colonel Taurus», who had its hammer raised high in the air.

She wasn't a moment too late. The bull sub-boss let out a giant roar that caused all of the raid members to flinch and cover their faces instinctively. Then it plunged the hammer straight down into the ground.

Misaka closed her eyes at a sudden burst of light that came from a Sword Skill, and then she opened them again, she frowned.

"Nothing happened…?"

"No, that was a Sword Skill," Tsubasa answered with narrowed purple eyes. "Something _had_ to have happened—"

"Hey," Misaka interrupted, her blue eyes never leaving the raid group. "Why aren't they attacking?"

They seemed to be saying something, but Misaka and Tsubasa were both too far away to hear clearly.

Misaka looked frightened. "If they don't start moving soon…then…"

The sub-boss's two-handed hammer suddenly came forward, aiming to clear them all out with one strike.

"Hey!"

Before Misaka even realized what she herself was doing, she had grabbed «Amano Maihime» tightly in her hand and had swooped forward in one giant leap. She weaved in and out of the party, and as she passed, she realized that the players' faces were all filled with horror and fear, and the only part of their bodies that moved to watch her was their heads.

Her blue eyes went wide in realization. _They can't move…! A Numbing Effect? No wonder they—no wait, I better—_

She stopped her train of thoughts and planted her left forward at a ninety degree angle in front of her, stabilizing her balance as she brought her _kodachi_ forward with a bright flare of blue light as she activated the Sword Skill. The sword pierced straight through the hammer, but as the hammer had a higher durability, it was unable to deal much damage and the two weapons were left at an impasse. Misaka bit her lip and dug her back heel deeper into the ground.

A second golden battle hammer came from «Baran the General Taurus» on her left, and her eyes widened in surprise. She moved to dodge—

 _Clang!_

Tsubasa's «Black Obsidian» held the hammer at a standstill, only a few centimeters from her. Despite his overwhelming strength, he still held the sword with both hands, positioned over his head. His gaze never left his enemy, but he spoke to Misaka over his shoulder.

"If you're going to do something, don't you think you should do it right?"

"Gee, thanks," Misaka said sarcastically as she lifted her front leg to kick off the large, flat surface of the battle hammer she was fighting and shoving herself backwards, out of the range of impact of the dropping hammer. "Then I'll leave that one to you?"

"Yeah, sure," Tsubasa answered carelessly. "I bet I could take both of them on at once if I wanted to."

"Good to know," Misaka stated before charging in on the second floor sub-boss, «Nato the Colonel Taurus».

Tsubasa forcefully brought his sword tip to the ground using both hands, using the ground as leverage to allow himself to pry the hammer apart from his own weapon with the large black prong. He slid to the left, taking his left hand off of the hilt and touching his fingers to the ground to steady his balance.

He narrowed his eyes, letting out a short breath. His dark purple eyes examined the situation in front of him critically. _Right, left, straight down—well, there's only so many moves you can do with a hammer in the first place. That wasn't nearly enough time, but if I'm right I'm right, and if I'm wrong I'm wrong! It's all or nothing!_

He leaped forward to attack. Knowing he wouldn't be able to parry the heavy blow of the giant battle hammer, he ducked down to dodge and was hit by the giant gust of wind following the swing. He reached down while twisting his body in midair to stab forward and catch his sword on the monster's body, depleting some HP, but his main goal was to regain his balance and take off in another high leap.

Tsubasa's gaze flashed to the bottom left briefly. _If my attack pattern is right, it should be a Sword Skill from—_

There was a flash of movement from his right, and he froze. _—The right? That's different than usual…!_

He came to a sudden conclusion.

 _Damn that Kayaba Akihiko. Is he accommodating the game system to our actions even as we play? What a pain…!_

His lips turned upwards slightly.

 _But well…_

He instinctively moved his sword to help lighten the effect (and it did help that he was right handed). The two weapons made contact, and even though he was sent flying, he quickly regained his balanced and wiped his mouth with a grin.

"It wouldn't be interesting otherwise, would it?!"

 **A/N: So yeah, I hope you enjoyed that after the long wait~ I'm kind of excited for this battle scene. I'm sorry if I lost some of you, but I hope to hear from those who are still reading! Thanks! :)**

 **~Chikage**

 **PS. If you are waiting for my SYOC, I'm sorry, but please don't even talk to me about that. I'm really frustrated with how it's not progressing. So I think I'll stick with this for a little bit before I go back to that. Sorry!**


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